"I Might Have Tacos": Mayor's Outreach Plan After 4 Cops Arrested For Racially Profiling Latinos

Calls for embattled East Haven Mayor Joe Maturo to resign continued Thursday, days after he made racially-insensitive remarks to PIX 11 News cameras where he proposed having "tacos" as a form of outreach to the Latino community.

The explosive comments came in wake of a growing scandal within the East Haven police department where officers were accused of racially profiling local Latinos.

The controversy unraveled earlier this week, following the arrests of four alleged rogue police officers who federal authorities say systematically targeted Latinos with unlawful search and seizures, traffic stops and even physical abuse.

Despite the indictments for race-fueled attacks on the community, Mayor Maturo was quick to dismiss the allegations, calling them just that, "allegations" insisting that the accused officers were "innocent before proven guilty" in an interview with PIX 11 reporter Mario Diaz.

He then upped the ante by saying he "might have tacos" as his first step to repair relations with the Latino community.

WATCH: uncut footage of that interview.

On Wednesday, Conn. Gov. Dannel P. Malloy lashed out at Matruo, calling his comment racially-insensitive.

"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."

Despite issuing an apology for the remarks, calls for Maturo to resign heightened Thursday with the launch of two Facebook campaigns - one where fans are being encouraged to text in their support. The organization behind the page, Reform Immigration FOR America, vows to send Maturo one taco for each text they receive.

"We will be delivering 500 tacos to Mayor Maturo's office today [Thursday] at 1pm," the latest post said. It wasn't immediately clear if the Mayor's office accepted or turned away the delivery, or if the delivery even happened.

The Arrests and Fallout

On Tuesday, federal authorities announced the arrest of East Haven Police Sgt. John Miller and officers David Cari, Jason Zullo, and Dennis Spaulding -- a group that was also referred to within the force as "The Miller Boys." The police officers are accused by the FBI of not only intimidating fellow officers but also an entire community.

"The indictment further alleges that Spaulding and Zullo intimidated, harassed and humiliated members of the Latino community," said David Fein, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut.

When the issue was addressed with Mayor Maturo, he maintained that Latinos were few and far between in East Haven.

"We have a very small segment of Latinos in town," he said. "We have a very small segment of a lot of nationalities in our community."

When pressed with the issue again about tensions in the Latino community and a police force with no Latino representation, the mayor dismissed the facts.

"And your point being?" he said.

When asked about his plans for outreach in the Latino community, Maturo thought for a moment before saying, "I might have tacos when I go home. I'm not quite sure yet," he mockingly responded.

Maturo later attempted to soften his comment by adding that he's "visited Puerto Rico," and since he's Italian he "may have spaghetti."

The mayor later tried to apologize for his comments, claiming his response to a simple question was taken "out of context."

Being Latino in East Haven

According to Census reports, the Latino community in East Haven is primarily comprised of immigrants from Ecuador. They makes up 10% of the town's population. Yet out of a police force of 50, only one speaks Spanish, and government officials, along with one community resident, informed PIX 11 that he is not even Latino.

Local Latino residents welcomed news of the arrests Tuesday, and some we're surprised they had actually happened.

"All the Latinos around here have problems -- they are afraid of the police," said La Bamba bar owner Michael Maren. The bar was mentioned in the indictment as an establishment targeted by the officers arrested.

Los Amigos Grocery Store owner Luis Rodriguez came to the United States 19 years ago in search of the American dream. But as he found out, in East Haven, the dream was at times a nightmare.

"The harshest form of intimidation came from officer Spaulding. He ripped my license in front of me while my car was parked. I wasn't even driving," Rodriguez told PIX 11 News.

The Government did say the investigation is still active and there is the potential for more arrests.