CT Police Officer Lt. John Cummings Suspended for Using Racial Slur

Lt. John Cummings, a 17-year veteran of the Bridgeport Police Department, has been suspended without pay for making racist remarks on his police radio. According to the Connecticut Post, Cummings, a senior member of the Police Department's Emergency Services Unit or SWAT team, was also removed from the special unit and ordered to undergo sensitivity training after he completes the suspension.

The sources said Cummings had been responding to a call of shots fired in the Greene Homes housing complex. While approaching the location, the sources said Cummings came across a group of young black males who crossed the path of his police vehicle. They said Cummings was then heard over his radio making a racial slur regarding the young men.

Cummings, who began his suspension on Sept. 9, could not be reached for comment. Because the suspension was less than 30 days, it was meted out by Acting Police Chief Joseph Gaudett Jr. and not by the police commission. Source

Some are saying Lt. Cummings should not have been suspended, but given diversity training. A slap on the wrist isn't the answer to this issue. One has to wonder if he can use racial slurs, then he can carry that same racist mindset to any encounter with blacks and Latinos on the street during a police stop.