Officer let go due to alleged racist note on Gates arrest

BOSTON -- The officer accused of sending a racist e-mail to members of the Boston Police Department has been fired.

Justin Barrett is accused of violating department rules by sending the e-mail.

The Boston police commissioner came to the decision following a disciplinary hearing last month.

Barrett used a racial slur in an e-mail he wrote about the arrest of professor Henry Louis Gates, who was arrested outside his Cambridge house last summer.

Officers were responding to a call about a burglary at Gates' home.

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