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New Jersey Teacher Probed After Calling George Floyd A ‘Criminal’ During Zoom Rant

Howard Zlotkin was suspended with pay pending a school district investigation.

A New Jersey high school teacher is accused of cursing at students and calling George Floyd a “f*****g criminal” during a series of racist rants, according to various media reports Friday (April 30).

Jersey City Dickson High School teacher Howard Zlotkin’s first alleged meltdown over a Zoom call was captured by a student and shared with the news outlet this week, according to NBC New York. It occurred during a class discussion about climate change.

“If you think I’m privileged then f**k you, because my daughter thinks I’m privileged and I don’t speak to her,” the science teacher said in the video. “I hear people whining and crying about Black Lives Matter, but George Floyd was a f***ing criminal and he got arrested and he got killed because he wouldn’t comply and the bottom line is we make him a f***ing hero.”

RELATED: Virginia Teacher Fired And Under Investigation After Asking Students To Describe How George Floyd Died

Zlotkin seemingly focused Black students and, according to a report, assigned essays to four Black girls in the class, including 17-year-old senior Timmia Williams, NBC notes.

Another outburst reportedly came when she refused to complete the essay.

“I don’t think you can make a case. You know what Timmia? You’re full of s**t too,” Zlotkin told her the next day in class.

Williams’ mother, Margie Nieves told NBC New York she was shocked by the teacher’s ugly comments.

“Who does that?” she said. “Who would curse, I don’t even curse at my own daughter.”

On Friday (April 30), Franklin Walker, the district’s superintendent, told NJ.com that Zlotkin had been suspended with pay. He called the teacher’s comments “unacceptable.”

Zlotkin was also suspended from his position at Hudson County Community College where he’s an adjunct professor.

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