Massachusetts Mayor Fires Racist Police Officer for False Arrest of Black Man

City Officials in Brockton, Massachusetts announced plans Wednesday to terminate a racist officer whom they believe lied to get a Black man falsely arrested.

The mayor initiated steps to fire parking officer Jorge Delgado, who had been under an independent investigation into allegations that he called Sean Williamson the N-word during a March 2017 dispute over a handicap parking spot and later accused Williamson of threatening him with a knife.

“He’s now on unpaid leave, pending a hearing for termination. (The legal notice) clearly states that we’ve already scheduled a hearing for the purpose of his termination, but he does have an opportunity to present his side to the city before the final decision is made. But my intention at this point is to terminate him,” Mayor Bill Carpenter said.

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Delgado approached Williamson and demanded to know why he was parked in a handicapped spot outside a medical facility but was not properly displaying a handicapped placard. A surveillance video appears to show Williamson, who has an amputated leg, present the placard to the officer. However, Delgado insisted on writing a ticket, which led to Williamson exiting his vehicle and arguing with Delgado. During their verbal altercation, Williamson said Delgado called him the N-word.

Williamson went to the mayor’s office later that day with at least one witness to file a complaint. About 10 minutes later, Delgado reported that Williamson threatened him during the confrontation. Based on Degado’s word, officers later arrested Williamson on charges of assault with a dangerous weapon.

“The conclusion I’ve come to is Mr. Delgado fabricated the story against Mr. Williamson in order to cover up for his own reprehensible conduct,” the mayor said, adding that he apologized to Williamson on behalf of the city and hopes to settle the lawsuit.