Teacher out of job after commenting on ‘disturbing’ Facebook post, Georgia school says
A Georgia teacher under investigation for “disturbing” comments he made on a photo showing a man kneeling on a toddler’s neck is out of a job, the DeKalb County School District confirmed Friday.
Brian Papin, a special education teacher at Cedar Grove High School, came under fire this week after commenting on a Facebook photo that appeared to mock the public arrest of George Floyd, 46, a Black man who died in police custody after a Minneapolis officer knelt on his neck for about 8 minutes.
“Again! [You’re] doing it wrong!” Papin wrote, according to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The photo referenced Black Lives Matter and depicted two Black men pinning a white child to the ground. One of them has their knee on the child’s neck, the newspaper reported.
The man in the photo, identified as 20-year-old Isaiah Jackson, was arrested in Ohio, according to McClatchy News.
“One knee on center of the back one on the neck and lean into to it until death! You saw the video!” Papin wrote, seemingly referencing Floyd’s death, which was filmed. “Get it right or stop (expletive) around!”
The remarks sparked outrage and prompted the district to launch an investigation, CBS46 reported.
On Friday, district officials confirmed Papin no longer worked there.
“DeKalb County School District (DCSD) administrators were made aware of the disturbing social media posts on July 22, 2020,” according to a statement posted to the district’s Facebook page. “The teacher is no longer employed with DCSD. Again, there is no place for racism or abuse in our school district.”
McClatchy News reached out to the district to ask if Papin was fired or resigned but hasn’t heard back.
Several commenters on Facebook wrote that Papin resigned, which drew mixed reactions among locals, some of whom said they would’ve preferred to see the educator fired.
“Resigning and being fired are soooo different,” one user wrote on the district’s Facebook page. “His choice to leave means he could be rehired by another school. Unacceptable.”
“He should have been fired immediately!” another wrote. “I’m so disappointed in this school board.”
This story was originally published July 24, 2020 at 3:37 PM with the headline "Teacher out of job after commenting on ‘disturbing’ Facebook post, Georgia school says."