Connecticut governor slams mayor's 'taco' comment January 25, 2012 -- Updated 1520 GMT (2320 HKT) East Haven has been the subject of a federal discrimination probe The governor says the mayor should apologize More than 10% of East Haven residents are Hispanic (CNN) -- Connecticut's governor Wednesday slammed a local mayor's remark that he would eat tacos to support Latinos as "repugnant" and "unacceptable." Gov. Daniel Malloy criticized East Haven Mayor Joseph Maturo Jr. after learning of the mayor's remarks following the arrests of three East Haven police officers and a sergeant for their alleged role in the mistreatment of Latinos. In an interview with CNN affiliate WPIX, Maturo indicated that he saw no problem with not having any Latinos on the East Haven police force. When asked what he would do for the Latino community on Tuesday, Maturo said, "I might have tacos when I go home, I'm not quite sure yet." Malloy said Maturo's remarks "represent either a horrible lack of judgment or worse, an underlying insensitivity to our Latino community that is unacceptable." 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. The arrests are the first to stem from a federal investigation into racial profiling in East Haven. A recent scathing report from the Department of Justice, derived from an investigation that began in September 2009, accused the town's police of engaging in "discriminatory policing against Latinos." The police officers allegedly threatened and assaulted detainees, made false arrests -- including one against a local clergy member -- and later conspired to cover up evidence of their conduct by falsifying reports and blocking an investigation, prosecutors said Tuesday during a news conference in Bridgeport. "It's unfortunate that it had to come to arrests," Maturo said, adding that his office "stands behind the East Haven Police Department." The mayor said he doesn't believe allegations of such systemic discrimination in East Haven are accurate. Maturo said his city "is prepared to do all that is necessary to address the consequences of (the) grand jury indictment." He said his first priority is ensuring the continued protection of East Haven residents, and explained that he met with several shifts of police officers to make sure their service to the city would not be interrupted.