Brooklyn Criminal Court Officer Suspended Over 'Vile, Racist' Facebook Post
The officer has been suspended over a Facebook post that apparently depicts the lynching of a black man resembling former President Barack Obama.
June 07, 2020 at 07:57 PM
3 minute read
A state court officer in Brooklyn Criminal Court has been suspended over a Facebook post that apparently depicts the lynching of a black man resembling former President Barack Obama.
An alleged screenshot of the post, sent to a Law Journal reporter but which could not be independently verified, also includes a side-by-side, second depiction that appears to show former Secretary of State and presidential candidate Hillary Clinton being taken forcibly to a wooden apparatus for a hanging.
The side-by-side depictions, which apparently were part of a post that the officer had made public on her page Friday, have an overarching caption that reads: "The True American Dream."
Above the depiction of a black man hanging from a rope, who appears to be dead, a smaller caption says: "We Will Not Yield!"
The posting also includes two hashtags: "#Obamagate" and "#treason."
A memo to all state court staff issued on Saturday by Chief Judge Janet DiFiore and Chief Administrative Judge Lawrence Marks appears to confirm that a racist post was placed on Facebook, though it does not state the officer's name.
But the chief spokesman of the state Office of Court Administration on Sunday confirmed to the Law Journal that the officer being referenced in the memo is Sgt. Terri Pinto Napolitano. A Facebook post by the New York State Court Officers Association on Saturday also named Napolitano, saying, "She does not speak for Court Officers."
Dennis Quirk, the head of the Court Officers Association, posted the organization's statement to his own Facebook page, along with the same screenshot that was sent to the Law Journal.
DiFiore's and Marks' memo, addressed "To Our Court Family," says in part that an "employee recently posted on Facebook a vile, racist photo depicting and advocating the lynching of an African American man and woman." The memo, a copy of which the Law Journal has obtained, also says that the Facebook post is "abhorrent … at any time," and then points out that it comes "at this critical moment in our history—when our nation is reeling from the death of George Floyd and its aftermath" and "it is a sickening and unpardonable offense against every colleague in our court system, as well as the vast and diverse public that we serve."
Napolitano, who as a sergeant is a supervisor in the state court system, has been suspended, with pay, for 30 days, said Lucian Chalfen, the Office of Court Administration spokesman, in an email Sunday.
Chalfen added in the email that an investigation of Napolitano's Facebook post—which she apparently removed at some point after Friday, taking down her entire Facebook page—has been opened by the state's Office of Court Administration.
Napolitano's gun has also been taken, Chalfen noted.
Efforts to reach Napolitano on Sunday afternoon were not successful.
Meanwhile, her fellow court officers are speaking out in comments sections on Facebook, including, for example, a publicly posted comment from a person who lists herself on Facebook as a "Court officer at Unified Court System."
The women says in the comment that Napolitano is "an embarrassment and a huge disappointment to the uniform."
The comment also says that Napolitano is a member of the court officer's Ceremonial Unit.
"Shame on you Terri," the comment concludes.
This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.
To view this content, please continue to their sites.
Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
NOT FOR REPRINT
© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
You Might Like
View AllEuropean, US Litigation Funding Experts Look for Commonalities at NYU Event
Trending Stories
- 1Gibson Dunn Sued By Crypto Client After Lateral Hire Causes Conflict of Interest
- 2Trump's Solicitor General Expected to 'Flip' Prelogar's Positions at Supreme Court
- 3Pharmacy Lawyers See Promise in NY Regulator's Curbs on PBM Industry
- 4Outgoing USPTO Director Kathi Vidal: ‘We All Want the Country to Be in a Better Place’
- 5Supreme Court Will Review Constitutionality Of FCC's Universal Service Fund
Who Got The Work
Michael G. Bongiorno, Andrew Scott Dulberg and Elizabeth E. Driscoll from Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr have stepped in to represent Symbotic Inc., an A.I.-enabled technology platform that focuses on increasing supply chain efficiency, and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The case, filed Oct. 2 in Massachusetts District Court by the Brown Law Firm on behalf of Stephen Austen, accuses certain officers and directors of misleading investors in regard to Symbotic's potential for margin growth by failing to disclose that the company was not equipped to timely deploy its systems or manage expenses through project delays. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton, is 1:24-cv-12522, Austen v. Cohen et al.
Who Got The Work
Edmund Polubinski and Marie Killmond of Davis Polk & Wardwell have entered appearances for data platform software development company MongoDB and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The action, filed Oct. 7 in New York Southern District Court by the Brown Law Firm, accuses the company's directors and/or officers of falsely expressing confidence in the company’s restructuring of its sales incentive plan and downplaying the severity of decreases in its upfront commitments. The case is 1:24-cv-07594, Roy v. Ittycheria et al.
Who Got The Work
Amy O. Bruchs and Kurt F. Ellison of Michael Best & Friedrich have entered appearances for Epic Systems Corp. in a pending employment discrimination lawsuit. The suit was filed Sept. 7 in Wisconsin Western District Court by Levine Eisberner LLC and Siri & Glimstad on behalf of a project manager who claims that he was wrongfully terminated after applying for a religious exemption to the defendant's COVID-19 vaccine mandate. The case, assigned to U.S. Magistrate Judge Anita Marie Boor, is 3:24-cv-00630, Secker, Nathan v. Epic Systems Corporation.
Who Got The Work
David X. Sullivan, Thomas J. Finn and Gregory A. Hall from McCarter & English have entered appearances for Sunrun Installation Services in a pending civil rights lawsuit. The complaint was filed Sept. 4 in Connecticut District Court by attorney Robert M. Berke on behalf of former employee George Edward Steins, who was arrested and charged with employing an unregistered home improvement salesperson. The complaint alleges that had Sunrun informed the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection that the plaintiff's employment had ended in 2017 and that he no longer held Sunrun's home improvement contractor license, he would not have been hit with charges, which were dismissed in May 2024. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Jeffrey A. Meyer, is 3:24-cv-01423, Steins v. Sunrun, Inc. et al.
Who Got The Work
Greenberg Traurig shareholder Joshua L. Raskin has entered an appearance for boohoo.com UK Ltd. in a pending patent infringement lawsuit. The suit, filed Sept. 3 in Texas Eastern District Court by Rozier Hardt McDonough on behalf of Alto Dynamics, asserts five patents related to an online shopping platform. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Rodney Gilstrap, is 2:24-cv-00719, Alto Dynamics, LLC v. boohoo.com UK Limited.
Featured Firms
Law Offices of Gary Martin Hays & Associates, P.C.
(470) 294-1674
Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone
(857) 444-6468
Smith & Hassler
(713) 739-1250