A Black Tampa police officer, working as a school resource officer, has been terminated after bodycam footage revealed him using the N-word and he later admitted that he had done so previously.
According to NBC News, Tampa police officer Delvin White was terminated “for violations of policy that prohibit discriminatory conduct,” according to the Tampa Police Department. White, who was with the police department for eight years, was most recently working as a school resource officer at Middleton High School.
The Tampa Bay Police Department issued a statement regarding the incident:
On November 13, 2020, White was on a phone call when his body-worn camera captured him referencing a group of people as “ghetto N******”. While under investigation, White informed his supervisor that there was another incident, on November 30, 2020, where he used the “N” word while making an arrest. The body-worn camera captured White using the derogatory language twice while effecting an arrest for trespassing.
“Derogatory statements made by police officers jeopardize
the trust that our department works to establish with our community,” said Chief Brian Dugan. “Tampa Police officers are held to a higher standard and incidents like this negatively impact the entire law enforcement profession.”The Tampa Police Benevolent Association – Tampa PBA posted a statement to its Facebook page: