Southington Officials Investigating 'Racist' Social Media Post

SOUTHINGTON, CT — Southington police and education officials on Thursday said they were investigating what is being termed a racist video allegedly made privately by a high school student in a chat vehicle and then tossed on Twitter by another in the group.

Superintendent of Schools Timothy Connellan sent a letter to the parents, faculty and staff on Thursday morning denouncing the post. He also pledged to conduct a full investigation.

Here is the transcript of the letter:

"Early this morning, I was made aware of a video posted on Twitter. The video was allegedly posted by a student enrolled in the Southington Public Schools.

"The video in question contains racially inappropriate and highly charged language. It contains sexually explicit, inappropriate language and language implying the support of violence against people of color.

"This matter is under investigation at this time. I am writing to make you aware of this situation. The media is aware of the video and of course this has the potential to be broadcast on multiple outlets.

"We will be investigating this situation today to determine if there is any involvement of a student or students from Southington High School.

"Since this is new information we are at the very beginning of the investigation. Obviously, it will take some time to ascertain the facts. We have partnered with the Southington Police Department in this effort.

"Please note that the Southington Public Schools do not condone, support or tolerate the type of language or behavior demonstrated in the video.

"Any student in the Southington Public School District whose behavior is shown to be seriously disruptive of the educational process will experience disciplinary consequences consistent with Board of Education Policy and Regulation and the applicable State and Federal statutes and regulations.

"The Federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act prohibits school districts from releasing or sharing personally identifiable student information with third parties without the express written authorization of a student’s parents, legal guardians or a student who is age eighteen. Consistent with the requirements of that law, the District will not comment on individual students."

Southington police released trhe following statement:

"On Dec. 13, 2018 the Southington Police Department became aware of a social media message
with racist content that was made by a juvenile who attends Southington High School student. The
statements that were made on this posting were done in a private social media chat. Another person in the conversation then distributed them publicly. At this time this incident remains under investigation. Investigators are conducting interviews with the involved parties and witnesses. This remains an active and ongoing investigation that is being conducted by the Southington Police Department Detective Bureau. As of this time no charges have been filed."

The video in question appears to have been posted at 6 p.m. Wednesday. It appears to feature a teenager on a rant but also appears to have been muted. It is followed by several rants against it and many of those commenting were vowing to copy it to local school system authorities.

Photo Credit: Chris Dehnel

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