It’s a racist and vulgar tirade caught on camera inside an East Haven grocery store is getting a lot of attention.
The Mayor of Hamden confirmed to News 8 that the woman at the center of it all has resigned from her job with Hamden Public Schools. Mayor Curt Balzano Leng told News 8 the woman did not work with children. She was a clerical worker at the school district’s central offices. News 8 is not identifying her because, so far, no charges have been filed against her.
Related: Hamden Mayor: school employee removed from job over accusations of using racial slurs in video
The video was taken inside a ShopRite in East Haven Friday night and spread like wildfire on social media.
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The woman is seen and heard screaming curse words and racial slurs at an African-American customer in the store.
News 8 has chosen not to air the language because it is offensive and inappropriate for TV. The woman who lashed out did it in front of her children. Because of that, someone contacted DCF.
Besides hurling the insults, the video also showed the woman spitting towards the African-American person.
Less than 24 hours after it happened, Hamden Public Schools put out a statement saying the employee in the video no longer works for the district.
Here is part of the statement from Hamden Public Schools:
“Someone who will use that sort of language in any setting, whether public or private, is not someone we want anywhere near our children. The employee is separated from service, and we hope that her children will receive the support they need after witnessing such a traumatic event.”
Mayor Leng said after the Hamden Board of Education started looking into the incident, the woman resigned.
“I’m really proud of our superintendent and the Board of Education,” said Mayor Leng. “They took this matter with the utmost level of seriousness. They took immediate action this morning.”
People in East Haven reacted like this to the incident:
“I think it’s disgusting,” said one resident, who requested not to be identified. “To vocally put somebody down and be racist towards them and to call them names I think is wrong.”
“It’s very disheartening,” said Quran Powell, an African-American resident of East Haven. “Not everybody in East Haven is like that, so a lot of people shouldn’t be discouraged about coming to East Haven because it’s not a bad town. It’s a pretty good town.”
News 8 asked Mayor Leng how his town will move on from this.
“I think the action — the decisive action that was taken — very clearly shows that this type of repulsive behavior is not acceptable here and it won’t be tolerated,” said Mayor Leng.
