Robert Dunford, who recently was promoted to No. 2 spot after 27 years in the department, apologized Friday, The Boston Globe reports. He has been ordered to go through sensitivity training.

Dunford made the remark, first reported by WBZ-TV at a meeting Thursday with 50 police officers involved in the investigation of seven sexual assaults in East Boston, several of them reported by Hispanic women. The neighborhood, once largely populated by people of Italian heritage, is now about 40 percent Hispanic.

While he apologized, Dunford also said the results of the meeting showed he takes the sexual assaults seriously.

Martha Torres, who manages a cafe in East Boston, said the flap has made her distrust police.

"It doesn't make you feel like you have their support," she told the Globe. "And if you actually do call them when you get in trouble, they might end up insulting you instead of helping you."