Judge upholds Providence officer’s firing over racial remark

June 30, 2016 9:09 pm

By: The Associated Press

news@abc6.com

Providence, R.I. – A judge has upheld a decision to fire a Providence police officer who made racially offensive remarks about a black officer.

Superior Court Judge Alice Gibney on Thursday found that Sgt. David Marchant’s remarks were “hurtful, demeaning, degrading, and racist.” The incident happened in December 2014, when Marchant, who is white, responded along with a black patrolman to a suspicious package at Brown University.

When Marchant was asked by his supervisor later if he followed proper protocols, he said he had the black officer handle it and that if the black officer got sick it wouldn’t be a problem because “he’s a black guy anyway.”

Marchant was fired following a disciplinary hearing in November 2015. Marchant said the remark was a joke, and argued the firing was unfair.