“He had a departmental hearing and after reviewing the findings I thought that the best thing moving forward, for the department and the community, was that he be separated from service,” Public Safety Commissioner David Chong told The Journal News.

Chong would not say specifically why Hart was fired.

“All I can say is that it was a personnel matter, and we don’t discuss personnel matters,” he told the newspaper. Chong could not say immediately what date Hart was notified, but said it was two or three weeks ago.

Neither Hart nor his lawyer could immediately be reached for comment. The lawyer, John Pappalardo, had said previously that Hart denied using any racial slurs. Hart, an 11-year police veteran, had been suspended without pay since in July 2012 after he was hit with departmental charges.

Hart and two other officers, along with the city and the police department, are defendants in a $21 million federal lawsuit brought by the family of the 68-year-old Chamberlain, who was shot and killed by police during a Nov. 19, 2011 standoff at his 135 S. Lexington Ave. apartment. Cops were called to the apartment after Chamberlain’s medical alert device went off, apparently by accident. Police said Chamberlain, a former Marine and retired Westchester County Corrections officer, was acting irrationally and attacked cops with a hatchet and a knife. Police eventually broke open his door.

Police fired at Chamberlain with a stun gun and bean bags before he was shot and killed by Officer Anthony Carelli when police said he was about to stab another officer. In May 2012, a Westchester County grand jury voted not to indict any of the officers involved in the incident.

Chamberlain lawyer Randolph McLaughlin said Monday that Hart’s firing “is a good first step. There’s no question that an officer who uses racial slurs should not serve on any police department. However, removing one officer is not sufficient to address the serious issues occasioned by the Chamberlain shooting. Mr. Hart used the racial slurs, but he didn’t pull the trigger. That officer should also be fired.”