Susan McCoy, a Georgia high school teacher, is under fire for comments she made during a virtual class about the death of Breonna Taylor.
On Friday, she stated Taylor was responsible for her own demise during the class, which was recorded on video and posted to social media.
McCoy, who teaches forensics science at Pebblebrook High School in Mableton, is seen on a Zoom call discussing Taylor’s death. She then made statements suggesting that Taylor’s death was her own fault, saying: “if you hang out with people with guns that shoot at cops, you’re likely to get caught in the crossfire.”
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In the Zoom call, McCoy said Taylor’s associations with dangerous people led to her death.
“She was hanging out with the guy who was wanted on charges,” McCoy said. “[The police] knocked and he fired at them and they fired back. You know if you hang out with people who are criminals, and they shoot at a cop, you’re likely to get caught in the crossfire.”
While expressing remorse for her death, she stood firm in her assessment.
“I’m sorry she died; it’s sad, but she put herself in that position by hanging out with somebody she shouldn’t have been with,” the teacher said.
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Taylor was killed last March in Louisville, Kentucky after police confronted her and her boyfriend while in her home. According to the New York Times, police had served a no-knock warrant and broke the door down. Taylor’s boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, thought someone was breaking in and fired his weapon in self-defense. This prompted the officers to fire back, leading to Taylor being fatally struck by an officers’ bullets.
The warrant was served over Taylor’s ex-boyfriend, Jamarcus Glover, who was being investigated on drug charges. However, as previously reported by theGrio, Glover says that Taylor was never involved with any illegal activity, nor were there any drugs in her home.
“There was nothing never there or anything ever there, and at the end of the day, they went about it the wrong way and lied on that search warrant and shot that girl out there,” Glover said.
The Zoom call went viral and McCoy received push back from both students in class and backlash on social media. This prompted McCoy to post a video apology, asking to be forgiven for her ignorance.
“I want to apologize sincerely publicly for things I said today in my class that had to do with something that I was very ignorant about. I’m just heartbroken that I said something so rude and disrespectful,” said McCoy, who expressed her desire to regain the trust of her students after causing hurt.
“All I can do is say I’m so sorry. I should never have talked about something that I didn’t understand and I truly, truly apologize and ask for forgiveness and hope that someday i can have that trust back with my students that i know that i lost,” she added.
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