2 Men Who Reenacted George Floyd's Death Suspended From Jobs

KEY POINTS

Two men have been suspended from their jobs after reenacting George Floyd's death
One was a New Jersey corrections officer and the other a FedEx employee
Both were involved in a counterprotest during a Black Lives Matter march in Franklinville

Two men have been suspended from their respective jobs after video evidence of them mockingly reenacting the death of African-American George Floyd was uploaded online.

The men were involved in a counterprotest during a Black Lives Matter march in Franklinville, South Jersey Monday. They can be heard yelling, “Black lives matter to no one” and “All lives matter, police lives matter,” said MSN.

As the peaceful protest progressed, Russell Sampson captured one of the men kneeling on the neck of another man – a stern and direct insult on what had happened to Floyd on Memorial Day in Minneapolis after former police officer Derek Chauvin placed his knee on Floyd's neck for more than eight minutes.

Demonstrators raise their fists and chant as they protest against police brutality and the death of George Floyd across from the White House in Washington AFP / Olivier DOULIERY

“That was a real person, yes, that was willing to get down and show such hate,” Sampson told 6ABC, through the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

The reenactment of Floyd's death was also filmed by one of their friends. According to Time, the group was standing on the roadside in front of a pickup truck that brandished an American flag and a banner of President Donald Trump. An “All lives matter” sign was also found hanging, alongside a “thin blue line” as “support for law enforcement officers.”

One of the men was a New Jersey corrections officer and the other a FedEx employee. AJC said the latter "was immediately removed from all FedEx work duties."

“We have been made aware that one of our officers from Bayside State Prison participated in the filming of a hateful and disappointing video that mocked the killing of George Floyd," the New Jersey Department of Corrections said.

SUSPENDED: 2 men seen in #blacklivesmatter counter protest (one of which recreated the scene in which #GeorgeFloyd was killed) have been suspended from positions at FedEx and the New Jersey Dept. of Corrections@6abc pic.twitter.com/1Z7P7mU8sh
— Maggie Kent (@MaggieKent6abc) June 9, 2020

"The individual has been suspended from their post and banned from NJDOC facilities pending a thorough and expedited investigation,” said the New Jersey Department of Corrections in a statement Tuesday.

Fox 29 Philadelphia, citing multiple sources, later identified the men as brothers Jim and Joe DeMarco. However, the brothers have yet to talk to any local news station to “confirm or deny their presence in the video.”

“It automatically brought me to tears. The display yesterday showed me that racism is real, racism is alive, it's right next door to you,” said Franklinville protest organizer Daryan Fennal.

FedEx holds its team members to a high standard of personal conduct, and we do not tolerate the kind of appalling and offensive behavior depicted in this video. The individual involved is no longer employed by FedEx. We stand with those who support justice and equality.
— FedEx (@FedEx) June 9, 2020