Cop Fired for Carl Crawford Racial Slur
A Massachusetts police officer has been fired Thursday after directing a racial slur toward Red Sox player Carl Crawford earlier this month. Perreault had called Crawford a "Monday," a term that can be used in a derogatory sense toward blacks, referring to the most-hated day of the week.
John Perreault of Leominister, Mass. was relieved of his duties by the town's mayor Dean Mazzarella at the recommendation of Police Chief Robert Healey.
"Your actions are so egregious that severe punishment is warranted," the Mayor wrote in the termination letter, according to The Boston Herald. "There is simply no place for your behavior in the workplace and there is no place for someone who exhibits such objectionable behavior in the Leominister Police Department, or any city department, for that matter."
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The incident took place during a July 5 minor league baseball game in Manchester, N.H. Officials said that Perreault called Crawford a lesser-known racial slur before allegedly flashing his badge when cops arrived. Perreault, 38, was off-duty at the time.
Also in Mazzarella's letter, the Mayor said Perreault's comments to the outfielder were "racially insensitive"- Perreault himself called the comment "priceless" on his Facebook page. Moreover, he noted the ex-cop's previous offenses.
"I have concluded, based upon other incidents where you uttered racist remarks, that you called Mr. Crawford a [racial slur] because he is African-American, not simply because you do not care for him as a baseball player," wrote Mayor Mazzarella. "In arriving at this conclusion, I did not check common sense at the door."
In the ex-cop's defense, attorney Joseph Sandulli said his client did not mean to offend, and that the current situation is "an overreaction by the ballplayer, by the public and by the city."
Crawford has recently returned from the disabled list after suffering a wrist and elbow injury. Last season, the athlete signed a 7-year, $142 million contract with the Red Sox.
"It surprised me he was a police officer, it's disappointing," Crawford told the Associated Press last week after Perreault was placed on leave. "But I just want to put that stuff behind me and not even worry about that anymore. I don't really know how I feel about that. It's just disappointing that it had to happen. It's just one of those things you have to let go."
