East Haven Mayor Joseph Maturo is facing criticism for what many are calling racially insensitive remarks he made during an interview Tuesday following the indictment and arrest of four East Haven Police officers for allegedly violating the civil rights of Latino residents and others.

During a television interview taping, New York City-based WPIX reporter Mario Diaz asked Maturo: "What are you going to do for the Latino community today?" And Maturo responded: "I might have tacos when I go home, I'm not quite sure yet."

Diaz and Maturo continue their discussion for another four minutes.

The WPIX reporter said in his report that later, Maturo came to him and apologized for the remarks. But Diaz called the exchange "indefensible."

"There's no excuse for that," the reporter said during his report.

East Haven Patch reader Dave Hausler agreed. On East Haven Patch's Facebook page Hausler said of Maturo's comments: "When our police officers face federal charges for racial discrimination, our mayor should know better than to make such a "flippant" comment to the press, regardless of how many interviews he has given on the subject today. East Haven deserves a leader with the integrity to provide a strong example to our troubled police department, not the wrong example."

And East Haven Vine blogger Dan McCann, in his latest post, is calling for Maturo to resign following the comments he made during the interview.

"I believe in our men and women in blue and will stand with them shoulder to shoulder in this fight with the United States Government but what I will not stand for as a taxpayer in the Town of East Haven is for our leader, our Mayor, to pour more salt on the wound," McCann commented in his post.

Various political leaders throughout the state also condemned Maturo's remarks Wednesday, calling them everything from "unacceptable" to "appalling." 

“The comments by East Haven Mayor Joseph Maturo are repugnant. They represent either a horrible lack of judgment or worse, an underlying insensitivity to our Latino community that is unacceptable. Being tired is no excuse. He owes an apology to the community, and more importantly, he needs to show what he’s going to do to repair the damage he’s done. And he needs to do it today," Gov. Dannel P. Malloy said in a statement Wednesday. 
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Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro also added her name to the growing roster of political figures who chastised Maturo for his comment Wednesday. ‬

“I am appalled by the comments made by East Haven Mayor Joseph Maturo yesterday. His comments have no place in a civil society and they do not reflect the values of the good residents of East Haven," the Democrat representing Connecticut's Third Congressional District said in a statement. "Mayor Maturo has insulted the Latino community in Connecticut. I am very disappointed by Mayor Maturo’s comments and am glad that he has apologized for these insensitive remarks.”

Maturo issued an apology for his remarks Wednesday afternoon, characterizing them as an "insensitive and off-collar comment." Part of the statement issued to the press is excerpted below:

"Our community needs to refocus on healing together.  To date, my administration has already taken steps to begin that healing process. Most recently, I commissioned a new advisory committee to the Mayor named “LEARN” (Law Enforcement Advisory Resource Network) aimed at recommending updates to policies and procedures to the Board of Police Commissioners. Recognizing the need for the Latino community to have a voice on this exciting and important new board, I appointed Jose Velasquez, a well-respected community volunteer and native of Puerto Rico, to the board. The first products of that committee have been a new mission statement for our Police Department, a more accessible civilian complaint procedure, and the publishing of updated civilian complaint forms in both English and Spanish."