A state prison corrections officer is being investigated after he was part of a group mocking the death of George Floyd during a protest in Franklinville.
In video captured by Stockton University student Lexi Fagotti, a man is seen kneeling on another man in the way an officer knelt on Floyd's neck.The men are in front of trucks that have an American flag, a blue line flag and a "Trump" sign.
"You don't comply, that's what happens," the man is heard yelling in a video taken by the Bayside State Prison corrections officer. "He didn't comply. If he would've complied, it wouldn't have happened. That's why he's dead. He's dead because he didn't comply."
As the protesters pass yelling, "Black lives matter," the officer adds "to no one."
"Black lives matter to no one," he repeats. "All lives matter. Police lives matter."
The name of the corrections officer has not been released, but a spokesman for the Department of Corrections confirmed he works at Bayside in Mauriceville, Cumberland County.
"We have been made aware that one of our officers from Bayside State Prison participated in the filming of a hateful and disappointing video that mocked the killing of George Floyd."
Department of Corrections spokesman
"We have been made aware that one of our officers from Bayside State Prison participated in the filming of a hateful and disappointing video that mocked the killing of George Floyd," the spokesman told BreakingAC. "The individual has been suspended from his post and banned from NJ DOC facilities, pending a thorough and expedited investigation."
At least four men were involved in the incident, as they waited for protesters Monday, along Delsea Drive.
"Just keep walking," one is heard saying. "Start running."
One of the men lays down on the ground while another kneels on him.
Gov. Phil Murphy addressed the incident in a tweet.
"Mocking George Floyd’s murder in (an) effort to belittle the calls for justice from our black and brown communities is repugnant," he said. "I condemn this behavior in the strongest terms possible. We won’t let the actions of a few distract from our progress toward dismantling systemic racism."
