Cincinnati police officer fired after being caught using racial slur on duty

By WLWT Digital Staff

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    CINCINNATI (WLWT) — A Cincinnati Police Officer has been fired after her body camera caught her using racial slurs while on duty back in April.

The Cincinnati City Manager’s office announced Monday, it had approved the recommendation by Interim Police Chief Teresa Theetge to terminate Cincinnati Police Officer Rose Valentino.

According to an internal investigations report, Officer Rose Valentino was on duty in a marked police car on April 5 when she went to the district three police station to complete a report.

The report states that as Valentino pulled into the driveway of the station, she saw several cars lined up waiting to pick up students from Western Hills University High School.

Valentino then activated her lights and siren, signaling for the vehicles to move, and when they didn’t, she became audibly angry.

Valentino put her window down and told the drivers to move when, according to the report, a Black male student walked by and gave Valentino the middle finger. Valentino got angry and could be heard on her body camera saying the slur in response to the teenage student.

Valentino said she was “frustrated due to the traffic and individuals not taking her seriously.”

Valentino was found to be in violation of the manual rules and regulations and disciplinary process for the Cincinnati Police Department and in violation of the city of Cincinnati’s administrative regulation.

You can read the full state from interim chief Theetge below.

“As the Interim Chief of the Cincinnati Police Department there are many things that I must take into consideration when determining the appropriate discipline for an officer’s misconduct. Most importantly, I must consider the community’s trust. In law enforcement, the community’s trust is the foundation of what gives us the authority to perform our duties. Officer Valentino’s agitated demeanor and the statement she made while on duty is not only inexcusable and incredibly hurtful, but it damages the public’s trust we have worked so hard to build over the past 20 years, since the inception of the Collaborative Agreement.

As the Interim Police Chief, I must also weigh Officer Valentino’s future ability to police a diverse community that relies upon an impartial party to protect and serve. Officer Valentino’s clear loss of her emotions and ready use of the racial slur tarnished her ability to work with any community member or member of the Cincinnati Police Department hurt by her hateful words. This significantly reduces, if not eliminates, Officer Valentino’s ability to be a productive member of the police department.

I want to be clear; this type of hateful speech will not be tolerated by anyone who works for the Cincinnati Police Department, sworn or civilian,” said Interim Police Chief Teresa Theetge.

Officer Valentino will be able to file a grievance about the situation, which can review whether an employer had “just cause” in taking any particular corrective action.

FOP President Dan Hils released a statement on the decision Monday evening saying, “No Cincinnati police officer should use the N-word or any other racial slur and anyone who does is wrong. The Fraternal Order of Police represents Cincinnati Police Officers throughout the disciplinary process as outlined in our collective bargaining agreement. Officer Valentino is entitled to challenge her termination if she chooses and the FOP will represent her if she does.”

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