A 28-year veteran of Colorado’s El Paso County sheriff’s department retired earlier this month to very little fanfare. After 28 years it isn’t that surprising that someone might retire. But when Lieutenant Robert Jaworski decided to retire, it was prompted by his use of the N-word to describe President Barack Obama, in front of a bunch of other city officials.
Uttering the racial slur brought a swift end to a 28-year career for Robert Jaworski, who according to the sheriff used the term in front of several subordinates and members of the El Paso County Coroner's Office assembled in a break room at the Sheriff's Office.
The comment was made spontaneously as Obama was featured on a television segment, Elder said Monday during an interview. The sheriff said he would have fired the longtime investigator had he not stepped down voluntarily.
[Enjoy that word choice]
Sheriff Bill Elder said he would have fired Jaworski without a warning had Jaworski not retired himself.
Jaworski left with his retirement benefits intact, although he would have received them anyway in the case of termination, Elder said.
"There was no settlement, no use of public dollars, or any legal consideration given in return for the retirement," Elizabeth A. Kirkman, a deputy El Paso County attorney, said in a written statement to The Gazette.
Whether or not Jaworski got to choose retirement over being fired wasn’t addressed and details of the actual complaint were also denied to the news. Some of the details of this situation are bothersome.
Using racist language would not jeopardize Jaworski's law enforcement certification, leaving him eligible to seek a different job in law enforcement.
If a different law enforcement agency were to contact the sheriff's office for information on Jaworski, Elder said his agency would disclose his admission to using the slur.
Would they give up this information as part of a background check by another law enforcement agency, or would they only disclose this if asked specifically for it?