A Connecticut public school employee has resigned after a video surfaced on social media that appeared to show her using a racial slur and spitting at an African-American man, school officials said.
School administrators filed a report with the Department of Children and Families because her children were present during the incident, according to a statement from Hamden Public Schools.
“Someone who will use that sort of language in any setting, whether public or private, is not someone we want anywhere near our children,” the statement read. “The employee is separated from service, and we hope that her children will receive the support they need after witnessing such a traumatic event.”
The employee resigned abruptly after school officials set up an investigatory meeting with her about the video which was taken at a supermarket in East Haven, Connecticut, on Friday, the school district said.
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Hamden Mayor Curt Leng released a statement calling the video “vile and shocking.”
“While I am disgusted and disheartened seeing such hateful behavior, wildly unacceptable anywhere, I am thankful for the swift and effective actions taken by our school system to address this head on and make clear that hate and violence will not be tolerated,” he said.
Police spokesperson Lt. Joseph Murgo urged any potential witnesses to come forward, The Hartford Courant reported.
“At this time, we have not been contacted by anybody directly involved in this matter,” Murgo told the paper. “Speech like this has no place in today’s society and nobody deserves to be spit at or called racist names.”
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