A North Miami, Fla., high school principal was removed from his position after he expressed support online for the Texas officer who was shown on video dragging a teenage girl to the ground by her hair and pulling his gun on other teenagers, Reuters reports.
Alberto Iber, the principal of North Miami Senior High School, drew the attention of the Miami-Dade County Public Schools after he commented on an online article at the Miami Herald about the notorious incident that has sparked nationwide debate.
“He did nothing wrong,” Iber wrote in a comment that also displayed his Facebook picture, name, school and title. “He was afraid for his life. I commend him for his actions.”
Although the school district didn’t specify what exactly prompted Iber’s removal, it released a statement saying that employees are “held to a higher standard, and by school board policy, are required to conduct themselves, both personally and professionally, in a manner that represents the school district’s core values.”
“Judgment is the currency of honesty,” Miami-Dade Schools Superintendent Alberto Carvalho added in a statement, according to NBC Miami. “Insensitivity—intentional or perceived—is both unacceptable and inconsistent with our policies, but more importantly with our expectation of commonsense behavior that elevates the dignity and humanity of all, beginning with children.”
Iber has not been terminated but is currently assigned to administrative duties pending reassignment, officials said, according to NBC Miami.
Students at the school had mixed reactions about the now-former principal’s online comment.
One student, Cole Crawford, told NBC Miami that he didn’t think Iber “meant it in a harmful way.”
However, another student, Price Testinobles, did not feel the same way. “If you’re running a majority-black school and you say a remark such as that, people will not respect you,” the student said.