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Tampa school resource officer fired for using racial slurs, department says

Officer's body-worn camera captured the language used
Covering Hillsborough County
Posted at 7:49 PM, Mar 02, 2021
and last updated 2021-03-02 20:49:09-05

TAMPA, Fla. — A Tampa school resource officer was fired for using racial slurs on two separate occasions, the department said.

Tampa police said Delvin White was an 8-year veteran of the department and was most recently assigned as a school resource officer at Middleton High School.

On Nov. 13, 2020, White was on a phone call when his body-worn camera captured him using a racial slur.

While under investigation, White told his supervisor there was another incident on Nov. 30, 2020, where he used the same racial slur while making an arrest.

The body-worn camera caught White using discriminatory language twice while making an arrest.

"Derogatory statements made by police officers jeopardize the trust that our department works to establish with our community," said Chief Brian Dugan. "Tampa Police officers are held to a higher standard and incidents like this negatively impact the entire law enforcement profession."

This article was written by Lisette Lopez for WFTS.