A white Colorado officer who was fired by his police chief after getting caught on body camera referring to Black people as “porch monkeys” was rehired.

Former Aurora Police Lt. Charles DeShazer said, "We got the Alabama porch monkeys all contained," in the body camera footage obtained by Denver7. In the video, DeShazer was referring to a crowd of Black people gathered near the scene of a shooting on June 18, 2017, reported KDVR.

Chief Nick Metz made a Facebook post about the incident and DeShazer’s termination, reported The Wichita Eagle.

"Following the investigation, I terminated Lt. DeShazer on September 1, 2017," the post read. "...The racially insensitive comment made by Sgt. DeShazer is in direct contradiction to the values of the Aurora Police Department."

While DeShazer was fired, he eventually appealed his termination to the city's Civil Service Commission, who decided last month to rehire him even though he needed "substantial discipline.”

Chief Metz, who demoted DeShazer from lieutenant to sergeant and announced he would not be paid for the 10 months when he wasn't working for the department, does not appear to be in agreement with the decision.

"I respect their decision, but that doesn't mean I have to agree with it," Metz told Denver7.

"I felt the termination was the correct course of action," Metz told KDVR. "I felt that it would send a strong message internally and externally about what our expectations are in this agency and we have set a high bar."

Metz told the station that officers of all races are "absolutely appalled" by what DeShazer said and are not happy that he was rehired.