Content Warning: The following article contains mentions of inflammatory language, violence and guns.
Robert Sisco — a former officer with the New Paltz Police department and owner of the Black Mamba Rifle Co. in Highland, NY — has been fired after breaking the last chance agreement from his previous suspension.
Sisco had previously been suspended for uploading a video of himself rapping with transphobic and bigoted lyrics on social media in June 2020. It was determined that he was most likely on duty and in a police vehicle when the video was taken. The rap lyrics included lyrics such as “There’s only two genders and Trump’s still your president. Boys have a penis and girls have a vagina. This whole coronavirus was sent here from China.” There was also a line suggesting that Hillary Clinton should be “hung for treason.”
Many New Paltz residents initially called for Sisco to be fired. However it was decided that Sisco would complete a 120 day unpaid suspension and 20 hours of community service, issue a formal apology and face a 48-month “last chance agreement” period in which Sisco can be fired at any time for another incident of this kind.
In the beginning of January, Sisco began posting inflammatory videos again, according to Town Supervisor Neil Bettez.
Supervisor Bettez stated that he had not seen the new videos that Sisco had posted, but was aware that they were posted by him and were in direct violation of the agreement.
In a video posted to his public Instagram account (@original_official_black_mamba) on Jan. 2, Sisco discusses a documentary he is taking part in, and states, “If you are a good cop you have absolutely nothing to worry about … I am just saying there are bad cops out there and what they say, ‘one bad apple spoils the bunch.’ Well guess what? We’re out here f****** hunting apples.”
It is unclear if this video is one of the posts that resulted in his termination. However, in another post on his Instagram, Sisco shared a screenshot of what appears to be an article (though at the time of publication, our reporters have been unable to locate the original source) that explains the details of the videos that caused this outcome. The text states that the new videos include “opinions about law enforcement and assertions that a documentary dealing in some way with police corruption has been in the works since at least 2012.”
“The exact wording [of the agreement] is that if he engages in misconduct that is the same or similar to the misconduct alleged in the notice of discipline, that he would be subject to termination,” Supervisor Bettez said. “Our attorneys looked at [the videos] and they determined that they were in violation, so we asked to execute the last chance agreement [and] as of yesterday it was official, Officer Sisco no longer works for the town.”
In addition to firing Sisco, Supervisor Bettez also said that the town has taken away Sisco’s certification.
“That’s one of the things that happens, you know, officers kind of go from place to place,” Bettez said. “But he can’t be a police officer anymore.”
