Ocoee police officer William Wagner,
who was fired for using a racial slur, is getting his job back.
The Ocoee police officer who was fired after using a racial slur is getting his job back, the city manager said Friday.
Instead of being terminated, Lt. William Wagner will be demoted to sergeant, suspended for 120 hours and must go to sensitivity training before returning to the streets, according to the city.
City Manager Robert Frank said he felt the punishment was too harsh. He received about 40 emails and calls from the public, most of which said Wagner should get his job back.
He also said Wagner did not direct the slur at anyone. “It was said in the heat of the moment,” he said. “When you look at totality of circumstances … I can’t support terminating someone for a silly five-second comment.”
The decision came two months after the city settled a lawsuit filed by a former officer who said coworkers made racist remarks and claimed she was passed over for promotions because she was Hispanic. Another officer also is suing the city on similar claims.
Frank, who is white, is overruling Ocoee police Chief Charles Brown, who said he was “deeply troubled” by the slur and that it undermined the work of police officers trying to build relationships with the city’s residents.
A spokesman for the department referred requests for comment to him.
Wagner, who’s white, was talking to another officer in September when he compared his house to a “n-word house.” Wagner’s house was damaged during Hurricane Irma, Frank said.
Wagner immediately told the officer it was an inappropriate comment to make and reported himself to Brown.
The 19-year veteran of the department was fired Oct. 19 after an internal investigation.
Frank said he did not consult minority groups in making his decision. He said it was a difficult to make and the punishment he handed down was still significant.
The Orange County chapter of the NAACP did not immediately respond to a request for comment Friday afternoon.
Wagner is set to report back to work Monday.