BOSTON -- A Boston police officer was placed on administrative leave after he allegedly used a racial slur when referring to Henry Louis Gates Jr.

Watch Report

In a mass e-mail, Officer Justin Barrett, 36, called Gates a "jungle monkey," according to a law enforcement source.

Barrett, who is a captain in the Massachusetts National Guard, was also suspended and condemned by the Guard for what it called a "racially insensitive e-mail."

Gates, a black Harvard scholar, was arrested at his home earlier this month on a disorderly conduct charge after he tried to budge open the door of his Cambridge home.

Boston Police Commissioner Ed Davis found out about the e-mail on Tuesday and immediately stripped Barrett of his gun and badge, officials said. The e-mail was first sent to the Boston Globe and then to local members of the National Guard.

The e-mail was sent to the Globe in response to an article about Gates' arrest.

In the e-mail, Barrett writes, "(Gates') first priority should be to get off the phone and comply with police, for if I was the officer he verbally assaulted like a ... jungle monkey, I would have sprayed him in the face with OC deserving of his belligerent non-compliance."

"I just say that we want to rid our department of the cancer, and that is what we did -- rid the department of the cancer. All the police officers I know don't condone any of that," Boston Mayor Tom Menino said. "An individual preaching hate has no place in our society."

Barrett is assigned to District B-3. He was placed on administrative leave pending a termination hearing.

Maj. James Sahady, a spokesman for the National Guard, said "Capt. Barrett’s opinions are in complete violation of Army and National Guard Values and will not be tolerated."

Barrett has been a Boston police officer for two years and received extensive training in racial profiling prevention while in the academy.

"People go through these courses and they pass them and you don't know what they are going to do in a situation," said Menino, who wants Barrett fired from the police department.

Editor's Note: While we realize some readers may find the use of Justin Barrett's exact quote offensive, we felt it was important to the full understanding of the story to report it verbatim.