A retired New York City police officer who has been driving around for a couple of years with a "GETOSAMA" license plate says he is changing it to "GOTOSAMA."

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Arno Herwerth, who retired as a sergeant, went to the Division of Motor Vehicles on Monday to change his plate, the New York Post reported.

The computer at first showed the "GOTOSAMA" plate was not available, suggesting he had not moved fast enough when he learned Osama bin Laden had been killed in Pakistan.

The DMV said the plate is available and Herwerth was simply the victim of a computer error. Spokeswoman Jackie McGinnis said Herwerth gets first refusal on the letters.

"We might even reach out to him, because he has already said he wants it," McGinnis said.

The DMV turned down Herwerth's original application for the "GETOSAMA" plate on the grounds that it might be construed as encouraging violence. The agency relented after he sued in 2008.