The man who was working as a school resource officer at the time was fired after he was caught on body camera footage using the racial slur.
What We Know:
- Officer Delvin White, who is African-American, was fired for “violations of policy that prohibit discriminatory conduct.” According to NBC News in Tampa, on November 13th White was heard on his body cam addressing a group of people as “ghetto” and calling them the n-word.
- The report also states that while White was under investigation for the Nov. 13 incident, he admitted to using the slur again during a separate incident on Nov. 30. While arresting a student for trespassing, White could be heard on camera using the n-word twice.
- In a statement released by Tampa Police Chief Brian Dugan, he says that “Derogatory statements made by police officers jeopardize the trust that our department works to establish with our community. Tampa Police officers are held to a higher standard and incidents like this negatively impact the entire law enforcement profession.” However, Dugan said that while firing White was not an easy decision, everyone must be held to the same standard.
“The fact that he’s a Black, African American officer using the n-word is an interesting dynamic. . . .I know I made the right decision based upon the policy,” said Dugan. “If Brian Dugan, the chief of police referred to a group of people as ghetto n-words, when your chief of police is talking like that, what do you think would happen to me?”
- Danny Alvarez, spokesman for the Tampa Police Benevolent Association said they will file a formal grievance with the goal of getting White his job back. “Officer White is a beloved and trusted member of the East Tampa community that he was raised in and that he protected every day,” said Alvarez in a statement released on Facebook.
White has served with the Tampa Police Department for eight years and was most recently assigned to work at Middleton High School.
