Christopher Flanigan, who taught math at Coney Island Prep, posted a photograph of hundreds of officers exterior of St. Patrick’s Cathedral for the funeral of Det. Jason Rivera, saying it was the ‘excellent situations for reciprocity’
A Brooklyn instructor who appeared to name for violence towards cops in a photograph posted to Instagram in the course of the funeral of slain New York Police Detective Jason Rivera has been fired by the varsity.
Christopher Flanigan, who taught math at Coney Island Prep, claims his phrases have been ‘misconstrued’ and that he was solely making an attempt to indicate the ‘vulnerability’ of the huge crowd of officers who turned out to mourn the rookie cop.
The constitution faculty didn’t purchase his excuse and dismissed the instructor.
‘We don’t condone or promote violence of any kind,’ stated Coney Island Prep CEO Leslie-Bernard Joseph in a press release launched Sunday.
‘As of this afternoon, Mr. Flanigan is now not employed at Coney Island Prep.’
‘The academics and employees of Coney Island Prep are public servants; and like all public servants we maintain ourselves to a a lot larger commonplace,’ Joseph continued.
‘We work arduous to serve the younger individuals in our neighborhood, and we all know our cops do as effectively, taking innumerable dangers, to maintain our metropolis protected.’
Flanigan stated that he obtained demise threats and requires his firing over his since-deleted publish displaying an overhead shot of hundreds of officers exterior St. Patrick’s Cathedral for Friday’s funeral for Rivera, 22, who was fatally shot together with his companion whereas responding to a home violence name in Harlem on January 21.
Cops carried the casket of slain NYPD Officer Jason Rivera into St. Patrick’s Cathedral in Manhattan on Friday
Officers on bikes lined up exterior of the cathedral for the tip of the funeral
Hundreds of cops fashioned a sea of blue as they watched the hearse carrying Rivera’s physique go by
In Might 2020, a video caught a police van ramming into a gaggle of protesters in Brooklyn
Rivera, 22, was killed within the line of responsibility earlier this month when responding to a home name
Flanigan captioned the picture in his Instagram story: ‘5/30/20: NYPD SUV drives right into a crowd of protestors. Ultimate situations for reciprocity,’ based on the New York Submit.
‘I used to be actually simply making an attempt to indicate the vulnerability of all of those cops being in the identical place on the similar time which looks like a harmful scenario for anybody that may be that gathered collectively,’ Flanigan instructed the Submit on Sunday.
Flanigan, who taught math at Coney Island Prep, a constitution faculty in south Brooklyn, instructed the paper he took the publish down Saturday morning after two buddies, certainly one of whom is a cop, ‘questioned what I meant by the publish.’
‘I respect the NYPD. I don’t condone violence,’ he defined. ‘A 22-year-old police officer murdered within the line of responsibility is reprehensible. I’m devastated by that. I’m devastated that his companion handed every week later. These are usually not issues that sit effectively with me.’
Flanigan instructed the Submit that his use of the phrase ‘reciprocity,’ was not meant to be a name for violence towards cops.
‘Not within the sense for individuals to be driving or to be doing something much like what the police did,’ he stated. ‘However they put themselves in an identical place by being … all there, all collectively and it’s much like how the protesters have been.
‘That – I used to be making an attempt to make use of that phrase to virtually be the inverse mirror of that. The police have been now the those who have been gathered collectively and the protestors have been those who have been gathered collectively. Each in harmful conditions however not at all implying or inciting or selling that anybody must be a hazard to anybody else.’
Flanigan’s publish was in reference to an incident following the demise of George Floyd in Might 2020 wherein an NYPD automobile drove right into a crowd of protestors demonstrating towards police brutality in Brooklyn.
Then-Police Commissioner Dermot Shea stated the cops didn’t use the automobile in a forceful method, as former Mayor Invoice de Blasio known as footage of the incident ‘troubling’ but additionally blamed protestors for not transferring out of the best way.
No accidents have been reported on the time.
Cops who noticed Flanigan’s publish, although, stated they have been upset that Flanigan was advocating for an unprovoked assault on officers simply weeks after Rivera and his companion, Wilbert Mora, 27, have been shot useless in Harlem whereas responding to a home name.
‘For a faculty to condone an act of terrorism is reprehensible,’ one Manhattan cop instructed the Submit, noting: ‘I wouldn’t need him giving my very own kids instruction of any sort.’
And a Brooklyn officer stated: ‘ You may have a metropolis employee wishing bodily hurt or worse to fellow metropolis staff throughout a solemn service. It’s the final act of cowardice.’
Over the weekend, some on Twitter known as on Coney Island Prep to fireside the maths instructor – who was as soon as featured on NY1 for his musical tributes to first responders in the course of the early days of the pandemic.
‘Coney Island Prep Math instructor Christopher Flanigan inspired violence towards NY cops,’ wrote Claire Balan. ‘Mother and father watch who’s influencing your children! Do you assist this @CIPrep? #FireFlanigan.’
One other Twitter person wrote on to the varsity, saying: ‘I assume the announcement about he termination of Christopher Flanigan’s contract is forthcoming? Or do you wish to destroy your faculty financially? As a result of it’s both him otherwise you at this level, however certainly one of you goes down.’
Others shamed the varsity, with one particular person writing, ‘Is that this the message you need your college students to obtain? Is the Is form of particular person you let #train?,’ whereas one other man merely requested: ‘Has Coney Island Prep fired this scumbag but?’
Folks on Twitter have known as for Flanigan to be fired from his job as a instructor for his remarks
Flanigan’s publish got here as a New York Metropolis actress was let go from her theater firm after ranting about road closures in the course of the funeral.
Jacqueline Guzman was launched by Face to Face Movies theater firm after ranting in a now-deleted TikTok about ‘shutting down most of Decrease Manhattan’ for Rivera’s funeral on Friday.
‘We don’t have to shut down most of Decrease Manhattan as a result of one cop died for in all probability doing his job incorrectly,’ she says within the video.
‘They kill people who find themselves underneath 22 each single day for no good purpose and we don’t shut down the town for them, so.’
She then pans the digital camera to indicate ambulances and cop automobiles blocking the streets of New York.
‘That is f**king ridiculous, that is f**king ridiculous,’ Guzman rants.
‘What if somebody having a coronary heart assault on this space? Nobody can get to them as a result of it’s all blocked off for one f**king cop.’
New York Metropolis actress Jacqueline Guzman obtained backlash for her ‘disrespectful’ feedback concerning road closures throughout NYPD Officer Jason Rivera’s funeral on Friday
Her personal firm launched a press release, calling Guzman’s video ‘insensitive’ and that it doesn’t ‘condone’ her ‘feedback made about fallen Officer Rivera.’
‘Face to Face Movies has simply been made conscious of an insensitive video involving certainly one of our members, Jacqueline Guzman,’ the corporate wrote in a press release on Fb.
‘Face to Face Movies doesn’t assist nor can condone these comes made about fallen Officer Rivera. In consequence, she is now not a member of our firm.’
The Cuban American later deleted all of her social media accounts.
