A San Francisco police officer caught on videotape in 2008 telling a black Army veteran to “get out of the street, boy” has been fired from the department, sources said.

The termination stems from a March 1, 2008, incident that led to the arrest of Charles Haynes, who was leaving Zeke’s bar in the South of Market area at about 2 a.m. Haynes had left the bar after doing a show there as MC Truth when he came across Officer Paul Morgado.

After telling Haynes to “get out of the street, boy,” Morgado shoved him against a wall, handcuffed him and arrested him for intoxication, according to a civil suit filed in federal court. The City settled the case for $50,000 late last year.

In a police report, Morgado claimed Haynes was “extremely intoxicated, exhibited a strong odor of alcoholic beverage” and “came towards” Morgado in an “aggressive manner,” according to the civil complaint.

But unbeknownst to Morgado, Haynes’ partner, DJ Kool Kuts, had been recording the whole thing. The video shows Morgado charging Haynes “like a schoolboy in a schoolyard,” the complaint says.

The video was sent to the Office of Citizen Complaints, the Police Department and it eventually aired on KGO (Ch. 7). Last week, the Police Commission upheld the termination in closed session, according to Police Officers Association Vice President Kevin Martin.

“Obviously we’re disappointed every time we lose one of our officers,” Martin said. “I don’t know if the commission is aware of all the circumstances.”

A lawyer for Morgado, Lidia Stiglich, confirmed that her client had been fired, but declined to comment further. Police Commission President Thomas Mazzucco also declined to comment, citing confidentiality rules.

Morgado was also involved in an infamous 2006 incident at the Villas Parkmerced in which 21-year-old Asa Sullivan was killed in a cramped attic by two police officers. Morgado was the officer who originally entered the apartment and a civil case is still ongoing.

An attorney who has worked on both civil cases involving Morgado, Benjamin Nisenbaum, said it was “about time” that the Police Department terminated Morgado.

The Police Department would not comment on the case. Morgado is one in a handful of officers who have been terminated since the Police Commission began expediting disciplinary cases.

bbegin@sfexaminer.com

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