A school resource officer in Westchester County was removed from her post after social-media posts that celebrated and joked about the assassination of conservative commentator Charlie Kirk, school officials said.
Tanisha Blanche, assigned to Somers Intermediate School in Somers, was taken off duty after authorities were alerted to Instagram stories in which she appeared to celebrate the Wednesday shooting of Kirk, a 31-year-old conservative influencer who was shot while speaking at an event at Utah Valley University. Blanche’s Instagram account was later made private.
Copies of the posts reviewed by media outlets included comments that said, "Well that white sniper was over qualified when he put that hole in your neck hunni bunni," and, "Welp! That didn’t end well buddy," while resharing a video of Kirk. Another story asked, "Why yall don’t have that same energy for the school shooting that took place yesterday, but yall crying over the man that was ok with gun violence….Make it make sense." School officials said the content glorified violence and was unacceptable for someone entrusted with the safety of students and staff.
Somers Superintendent of Schools Adam Bronstein notified parents of Blanche’s removal in a letter, saying school safety was "our most sacred and important obligation." Bronstein said he contacted the supervisor of the Westchester County School Resource Officers unit, who removed Blanche, and that the Westchester County Police Department was notified. "The nature of the posts glorifies violence, which is completely unacceptable for someone entrusted with the safety of students and staff members," Bronstein wrote.
Bronstein said another resource officer would be assigned to the schools on Monday and that he was in direct contact with police to ensure the continuity of the school resource officer program. The Westchester County Police Department did not respond to requests for comment from the media outlet that first reported the story.
Kirk, a conservative commentator and founder of Turning Point USA, was a married father of two. Police and university officials have said he was shot while speaking at an event; investigations into the shooting were ongoing. The social-media posts about the shooting prompted immediate outrage from parents and community members who received the superintendent’s letter, school officials said.
The removal highlights increasing scrutiny of law enforcement personnel’s conduct on social media, especially for officers assigned to schools. Somers schools and the county police agency have said they will work to maintain the school resource officer program while the matter is addressed.