A Cincinnati police officer was caught by a body camera in April using a racial slur while stuck in traffic outside Western Hills University High School.

According to an internal investigation, Officer Rose Valentino said, “F***ing n*****s, I f***ing hate them!” The statement came after a male student walking by her cruiser gave her the middle finger, the report said.

Valentino’s police powers have been suspended pending a disciplinary hearing, City Manager John Curp said. Interim Police Chief Teresa Theetge signed off on the internal review on Monday.

“Officer Valentino will not be on city streets in uniform, wearing a badge or carrying a firearm,” Curp said in a statement.

According to the report, Valentino, who is white, said she does not have any racial biases that have affected her work and told investigators she does not use racial slurs.

“Officer Valentino believed that she was being affected by her profession and has since sought treatment,” the report states.

Mayor Aftab Pureval denounced the behavior in a statement Monday.

“I was appalled to see Officer Valentino display such hateful, angry, and racist language. Our law enforcement represents all of this city, and Black Cincinnatians deserve to feel safe knowing they will be treated with mutual respect,” Pureval said.”A fair and complete process needs to play out, but someone demonstrating this behavior has no place in a world-class organization like CPD.”

Cincinnati Police Union President Dan Hils said no Cincinnati police officer should use any racial slurs.

“Anyone who does is wrong,” he said. 

He said the union represents all officers during disciplinary matters and that every officer is entitled to a fair hearing.

The news of the incident came to light as former Chief Eliot Isaac and the city of Cincinnati were in the midst of a federal trial with two other Cincinnati officers caught on camera using racial slurs. Those officers, one white and one Black, sued saying their punishments were not equal for the same offense.

In that case, the officers were suspended for 56 hours, but a labor arbitrator later overturned the suspension and the officers received written reprimands.

In 2020, Valentino was charged with domestic violence and criminal damaging following a fight with her sister. She pleaded not guilty. Valentino’s police powers were suspended, and she was assigned to an administrative assignment. The charge was reduced to disorderly conduct. The court ordered her to take anger management classes and sentenced her to two years probation, records show.

In 2019, she was one of three Cincinnati police officers named, along with the city of Cincinnati, in a federal lawsuit by a realtor and prospective homebuyer. The men alleged they were illegally detained after a retired Cincinnati officer called 911 to report a break-in and they were held at gunpoint.

Three days after the suit was filed, the city of Cincinnati apologized and announced a $151,000 settlement.

In 2011, Valentino was one of four female Cincinnati police officers featured in TLC’s Police Women reality documentary series “Police Women of Cincinnati.”

She joined the police force in 2008. During her last four yearly performance reviews, her rating was “exceeds standards.”

Valentino has two reprimands in her personnel file. Both were for “failure of good behavior.” The first was for showing body camera footage from a homicide to members of her family in 2019. The second was related to the domestic violence incident in 2020.

The Enquirer is reviewing the body camera footage of the incident.