Laura Lynne Duffy: Brooklyn teacher slammed for anti-cop post after NYPD slayings
In the midst of several anti-cop posts made by individuals following the deaths of slain cops Jason Rivera and Wilbert Mora, a New York City prep school teacher is being slammed for saying she was “dressing up” during a student “dress down” fundraiser for the officers. Laura Lynne Duffy is a math teacher at Fontbonne Hall in Brooklyn. She made the post on Twitter at a time when students in her school had a “dress down” event with proceeds to be donated to the slain NYPD officers' families.
“If anyone was wondering, I am intentionally dressing up today. #Abolition #BLM,” she wrote on an account that is set to private. Students at the all-girls school were allowed to wear blue rather than their uniforms that day, as a tribute to the slain officers, parents said.
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“I am seriously thinking of taking my children out of the school,” one parent told New York Post. “That was a totally insensitive remark and disrespectful to the officer, his family and every police officer that patrols the neighborhood where she works and lives.”
School officials said that they had launched a probe into the post. Taking to Twitter, the school wrote in a statement, "It has come to the attention of the administration of Fontbonne Hall that one of our teachers tweeted a politically charged statement in regards to today’s student led fundraiser in support of the fallen NYPD officers. Fontbonne Hall does not endorse the personal comments of this faculty member and we will continue to advance the mission of the Sisters of Saint Joseph of all inclusive love, unity, and reconciliation within the earth community. Our thoughts and prayers are with the families of the fallen officers and we remain proud of our students for the compassion they showed today,” the statement went on. “We are conducting an internal investigation of the matter and will share an update when appropriate.”
Jason Rivera lost his life after he was shot by a domestic violence suspect in Harlem, Manhattan. Rivera, 22, and fellow NYPD officer Mora, 27, had attended a domestic call on Friday, January 21. Upon reaching the scene, Rivera was fatally shot in the hallway by a 47-year-old suspect, who was supposedly arguing with his mother. He fell onto his back and succumbed to his injuries. His partner, Mora, who was also injured in the attack, later succumbed to his injuries.
Recent anti-cop posts that came under fire
In a similar incident of anti-police vitriol, a Brooklyn public school teacher was fired from his job for an anti-cop Instagram post about the funeral of NYPD cop Rivera. In a statement, Coney Island Prep confirmed that Christopher Flanigan, who encouraged violence against cops who were mourning Rivera's death, is no longer working for the school. Flanigan's statement also drew outrage from members of New York’s finest.
A New York City actress was also fired by her theater company for criticizing street closures for the murdered NYPD cop's funeral in an online rant that she deleted soon after it went viral. “We do not need to shut down most of Lower Manhattan because one cop died for probably doing his job incorrectly. They kill people who are under 22 every single day for no good reason and we don’t shut down the city for them,” Jacqueline Guzman said in the clip which appeared on TikTok under the handle @vinylboobs.
Actress Susan Sarandon is also facing backlash online after she compared police gathered at the funeral of slain NYPD Detective Jason Rivera to fascists. The 'Thelma & Louise' star's Twitter post is the latest among a slew of anti-cop rants by different individuals that have come to light after the murders of NYPD cops Jason Rivera and Wilbert Mora.
Sarandon took to Twitter to post an image of the huge turnout of officers in Manhattan last week. Thousands of police officers gathered at St. Patrick’s Cathedral to bid farewell to Rivera on January 28 after he was killed responding to a domestic disturbance call in Harlem. The photo shared by Sarandon seems like a screenshot of a tweet by another individual, which reads, “I’m gonna tell my kids this is what fascism looks like". The actress captioned the image, "So, if all these cops weren’t needed for CRIME that day, doesn’t that mean they aren’t needed ANY day?”