Correction Officer Suspended After Making Joke on Facebook About Buffalo Supermarket Massacre

Common sense ain’t so common! 

A 25-year state corrections officer showed his true colors after he mocked the recent hate-fueled massacre that left 10 people dead in Buffalo. The guard is assigned to maximum security at Attica prison and has now been suspended without pay after posting a meme on Facebook about the shooting, officials confirmed Tuesday.

The Department of Corrections and Community Supervision identified the guard as Gregory C. Foster II who now faces termination from the job he has held since June 1997.

Foster made a post on Facebook that included a meme of the Tops supermarket that was the location of the racist attack at the hands of 18-year-old Payton Gendron of Conklin, Broome County. Underneath it was a crude reference to the attack.

Along with the meme, Foster or someone using his account added an additional comment:  “Too soon? This should weed out some FB friends.” It was ended with a laughing emoji.

A Facebook user took a screenshot of the post, which has since been largely reposted with many condemning it on Facebook and Twitter.

“The comments made by this correction officer are despicable, stand in violation of multiple department rules, and will not be tolerated,” the agency said in a released statement to CNHI by Thomas Mailey, its communications director.

The state agency added: “This vile posting does not represent the morals and values of the thousands of staff members in the department. The individual responsible has been suspended without pay and DOCCS will be seeking termination.”

The prison agency, which is part of the executive branch of state government,  also said it has brought in its Civil Rights Task Force, which suggests an investigation leading to a criminal prosecution could happen.

It has also launched an internal investigation to identify and discipline any other staff members who may have engaged with the posting,” the corrections agency stated.

Prison reform advocate, Jose Saldana, said inmates in New York frequently have to deal with racist intimidation by corrections officers, adding that such activity often goes unchecked at Attica.

Saldana, who is also a former inmate that now heads Release Aging People in Prison, said many corrections officers consider themselves “untouchable” when they engage in racist acts.

“This is tolerated by the state,” said Saldana, who spent 38 years in prison after being convicted of the attempted murder of a police officer. “They allow the officers to keep their jobs, their pensions as if they didn’t do anything wrong.”

The union for state corrections officers condemned the social media post.

Michael Powers, president of the New York State Corrections Officers Police Benevolent Association, made a statement: “We were recently made aware of an incident on social media involving a small handful of members who shared obscene jokes related to this weekend’s horrific shooting in Buffalo. Simply put, hateful rhetoric has no place in our organization. As a statewide entity representing individuals from across all ethnicities, genders, races, and backgrounds, we pride ourselves on being ingrained in the fabric of our respective communities through volunteerism and participation in community efforts to better the lives of our neighbors.”

Powers added: “We do not condone and will not tolerate actions like this because it’s not who we are. We proudly stand with the Buffalo community, law enforcement entities who responded to this tragedy, and all those effected by this senseless act of violence.”