A New York assistant principal was placed on leave this week after yelling, “f–k the police,” in a video posted on social media.
Steven Lysenko, a 9th-grade teacher and assistant principal at Spencerport Schools, appeared in a Facebook Live video Friday night during a Black Lives Matter protest in response to the police-custody death of Daniel Prude in Rochester.
In the video, Mr. Lysenko complained that Rochester police had met peaceful protesters with force.
“Our peacekeepers ended up shooting pepper spray at us for singing and chanting and telling them what a [expletive] job they were doing,” he said in the video. “They can f– right off, America! F– the police! F– Rochester Police Department!”
The Spencerport Central School District said in a statement on its website that Mr. Lysenko “is a tenured administrator with due process rights,” and that he was placed on administrative leave pending an investigation.
“We appreciate the outpouring of emails, posts and comments regarding this matter, and we hope you understand that given this is a pending investigation we are unable to respond. Thank you for your patience,” the school district stated.
In an earlier statement, the district said it stands “in solidarity with peaceful protesters” but that Mr. Lysenko used language “that does not align with our Code of Conduct or demonstrate appropriate role modeling for students.”
“These statements by our administrator have caused disruption within our school community,” the district said. “We apologize to our students, parents and community that you had to hear this language from one of our employees.”
Prude, a Black man, died after an encounter with Rochester Police officers on March 23. Protesters clashed with police for the fifth straight night Monday night after police body-camera footage from Prude’s arrest was released and an autopsy report ruled his death a homicide.
