Cincinnati police officer and ex-reality show figure fired after using racial slur on camera

A Cincinnati police officer who appeared on a reality show about women in law enforcement was fired after she was recorded on her own body camera using a racial slur, officials said.

The city manager approved a recommendation from the interim police chief that Rose Valentino be fired over the April 5 incident, the city said in a statement Monday.

“This type of hateful speech will not be tolerated by anyone who works for the Cincinnati Police Department, sworn or civilian,” interim Police Chief Teresa Theetge said in a statement.

Valentino, a 14-year veteran of the force who regularly appeared in the 2011 TLC series “Police Women of Cincinnati,” was removed from patrol duty last month after an internal affairs probe found that she used the slur while she was upset over traffic.

According to an internal affairs report, Valentino was angry that cars in line to pick up high school students didn’t move when she activated her lights. Valentino was especially upset about a Black student who raised his middle finger at her, according to the report.

She was recorded on body camera saying “F------ [racial slur], I f------ hate them!” while punching the steering wheel of her squad car, according to the report.

Valentino told investigators that she doesn't have racial biases or use racial slurs — but she acknowledged using the slur, saying it "was not intended to refer to all African Americans but was specifically and narrowly in reference to the teenager," according to an internal memo written by a police captain that was released Monday.

She told the investigators that she had been “desensitized to racially offensive language by music and hearing people talk on the street, and frequent exposure allowed the slur to slip into her vernacular,” according to the memo.

The memo added that Valentino sought mental health treatment after the incident.

The captain recommended that Valentino remain on the force with a 56-hour suspension and mandatory training.

But Theetge rejected that recommendation, saying in a separate memo that Valentino had been trained in recent years on nondiscrimination, implicit bias and fair and impartial policing.

"This leads me to believe that additional training will not change Officer Valentino's behavior," she said, adding that Valentino "demonstrated an inability to maintain her composure in the most offensive manner."

Valentino couldn't be reached for comment. In a statement to NBC affiliate WLWT of Cincinnati, Dan Hils, the president of the local police union, said no police officer should use any racial slur, "and anyone who does is wrong."

"Officer Valentino is entitled to challenge her termination if she chooses and the FOP will represent her if she does," Hils added.