Racist remarks get New Haven fire lieutenant suspended [View all]

[KamaAina]

http://wtnh.com/2015/09/01/racist-remarks-get-new-haven-fire-lieutenant-suspended/

A New Haven fire lieutenant has been suspended without pay for the entire month of September following racist remarks found posted through his Facebook page. The comments touched a very personal nerve with New Haven Mayor Toni Harp.

“I am a person that has been called that name in elementary and high school, and I’ll tell you it’s very demoralizing and hurtful,” Harp said Tuesday afternoon. “My people helped to build this country on slave labor. I am enraged by this comment, but we’ve got to go through a process.”

The post with the racial slur showed up under the name of Kevin Owens, who has been identified as a veteran lieutenant with the New Haven Fire Department. It reads, “In the U.S. we call them n******.” The comment was found under a story posted on the Facebook page for a right-wing British group named “English and Proud.” Owens was suspended immediately, a decision his union agrees with.

“If it’s true, it’s very hard to defend stupidity,” said Union president Capt. Jimmy Kottage. “Racism cannot be accepted in our city or anywhere.”

Well, it is southern Connecticut.