Leominster Police Chief Recommends Firing Officer For Racial Slur Directed At Carl Crawford

Last Wednesday, John Perrault, a Leominster police officer, was suspended with pay, at least until a hearing that would ultimately determine his fate. This stemmed from an investigation performed by Leominster, thanks to Perrault's use of a racial slur directed at Red Sox outfielder Carl Crawford during his rehab assignment for Double-A Portland.

Some background, in case you aren't familiar, courtesy of WCVB:

Witnesses said Perrault, who is white, began heckling Crawford, who is black, before a July 5 minor league Portland Sea Dogs game in Manchester, N.H., earlier this month. The witnesses said Perrault, who was off-duty, called Crawford a "Monday," which the player interpreted as a racial slur.

Leominster's mayor, Dean Mazzarella, said that investigators didn't care if "monday" was considered a common or legitimate racial epithet -- the fact it was recognized as a racial slur by Crawford was enough.

That second hearing occurred earlier on Wednesday, and as a result, we're one step closer to seeing Perrault receive a real punishment for his behavior.

Perrault's superior, police chief Robert Healey, recommended that Perrault shouldn't simply be suspended, but should be terminated from the police force because of his actions. According to Healey, this incident with Crawford wasn't isolated, as on at least two other occasions, Perrault has made racially charged "repugnant comments" while also repeatedly violating police department standards. If his boss thinks he should be fired, then there's a great chance that's just what's going to happen.

Please don't get me started on Perrault's family claiming that the comment that likely has lost him his career had "nothing to do with race" and that it was a joke taken out of context, especially considering what is apparently a history of racial statements. "You don't understand, Mr. Mayor. Crawford is black," one of them probably said.