Mississippi police officer loses job after telling man to ‘go back to Mexico’
RICHLAND, Miss. — A white Mississippi police officer has lost his job after telling a Hispanic man to “go back to Mexico” while the officer was responding to a disturbance at a home.
The officer resigned after being “relieved” for using “derogatory slurs,” Richland Police Chief Adrian Ready said in a statement Wednesday.
“This type of language is not only unacceptable, but it undermines the trust and respect we work hard to build within our community,” Ready said.
The officer, Jeremy Rast, responded with other officers in Richland, a suburb of Jackson, to a domestic disturbance call on Sunday. Rast said WLBT TV that the officers exchanged words with a group of men across the road.
WLBT reported that it had obtained a video that one of the men, Luis Rodriguez, had taken of Rast talking to him.
“Like, why don’t you go back to Mexico or something,” Rast said in the video. “Like, whatever. I do not mind. Please take Richland away from me. …I don’t like you guys being here.”
Rodriguez responded that he didn’t like officers being on his property. Rast responded that Rodriguez cannot legally own property, adding, “You are illegal.”
Rast also told Rodriguez, “I’m going to look for you every shift to try to arrest you.”
Rodriguez and Rast both told WLBT they had run into each other before.
Rodriguez said he is from Honduras and graduated from Richland High School. Rodriguez said he is preparing to leave Mississippi because of Rast’s statements. He said he is concerned that he will be targeted by others in law enforcement.
“Even though he has been fired, there may be other police officers who feel the way he does about us,” Rodriguez said.
Rast told WLBT that he spoke harshly out of frustration with Rodriguez.
“I made a number of comments that were inappropriate and unprofessional, and I take full responsibility for that,” Rast said. “(I’m) not proud of what I said.”
Rast also said he wants to continue his career in law enforcement.
Richland is in Rankin County, where five former sheriff’s officers and a former Richland police officer pleaded guilty to burglarizing a home without a warrant. torturing two black men in an hours-long attack that included beatings, repeated use of stun guns and attacks with a sex toy before one of the victims was shot in the mouth. These six former officers – some of whom called themselves the Goon Squad – were convicted federal charges in March and state charges in April.