Here's what some NJ.com readers had to say about a Camden County corrections officer being fired over racist text messages with fellow officers.
CAMDEN -- A Camden County Department of Corrections officer was fired after allegedly engaging in racist group text messages with fellow officers while inside the county jail.
Personal cell phones, which apparently were used to take photos of the facility and of inmates, were also forbidden. The fired officer contested his dismissal, which was recently upheld by the New Jersey Civil Service Commission.
Here's what some NJ.com readers had to say about the officer's firing:
sharmayne
"Over and over and over again, people lose their jobs because of social media. Facebook isn't private, texting isn't private. Nothing is private on social media outlets. If you wouldn't say it in front of your boss, your wife, your child, your mother, the Pope, or the police ... don't say it in social media. There's still a long way to go with this. Dead brains, to this day, post videos of themselves breaking the law. They also wind up jobless, arrested and in jail."
RELATED: Corrections officer fired over racist texts
clancy
"Outside of the time these nine officers wasted by texting over 5,000 times in a three month period, were there any infractions regarding ill treatment of inmates due to racial animus or failure to perform their assigned duties? McNulty may be a a racist but appears more likely to be just a boob, and as long as being one or the other didn't interfere with his job performance his firing seems extreme."
enjoythride
"I am sure the firing was done just for bringing the phone inside the jail, the rules are the rules, the stufff about the content of the text/e-mails is to bait the race hustlers up and into a frenzy! I could care less about the content or what people say, get thicker skin or ear plugs folks, every race has its bigots. I was raised on the sticks and stones principle!"
Orangeian
"Although the decision was based on the rule-breaking, just consider that the disrespect the officer showed to his boss with the other officers manifest in maltreatment to the incarcerated. Prejudicial, disrespectful and unfair behavior is internalized and normalized, and the volume of messages between officers show that they were quite comfortable with each other despite the fact that they were breaking the rules. Why do you think they weren't texting the same to any Black officers? They knew that what they were writing was not only controversial but indicative of their prejudice and supremacist beliefs. They got away with it for a long time, and when caught, they tried to rationalize the appropriateness and downplay the affect of such negativity. As commenters here, supremacists try to tell the offended what is offensive, as if only their POV is credible. Mr. McNulty will be OK, especially if he sees the reality of his inappropriate behavior. Someone who identifies with him, or empathizes with him, or sympathizes with him, will hook him up -- that's they way things work, right?"
Greg Adomaitis may be reached at gadomaitis@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @GregAdomaitis. Find the South Jersey Times on Facebook.
