CT student arrested for allegedly posting racist Snapchat about classmate

A Connecticut high school student is facing charges for allegedly posting a photo of a Black classmate on social media along with racial slurs and allusions. 

The 16-year-old, who police have not identified by name because they are a minor, was arrested and charged by the Fairfield Police Department with breach of peace, as well as a Connecticut-specific misdemeanor of “ridicule on account of creed, religion, color, denomination, nationality or race,” the Hartford Courant reported. 

The Fairfield Police Department confirmed to The Hill that officers were called to investigate a Snapchat image that “included a racial slur” and was “directed toward a juvenile classmate who was also in the photograph.” 

“Due to the sensitive nature of juvenile investigations and laws pertaining to non-disclosure of juvenile information, we are unable to disclose the details of the incident,” the department said in a statement, but added it could confirm “that a juvenile summons was issued in the presence of the juveniles parents and school administrators.” 

The student allegedly took a photo of a classmate, 16-year-old Jamar Medor, as they were sitting in their homeroom class at Fairfield Warde High School earlier this month, Medor’s mother, Judith, told CNN. 

The mother said the Snapchat picture taken of her son included the caption, “Why is there a n—-r in my homeroom?” and “Why is he not in chains?”

CNN reported that Jamar was not aware of the post until another classmate told him about it, and the picture was eventually reported to the school’s principal. 

Judith Medor, who viewed the post, said she was “really in a state of shock” when she saw it. 

“I didn’t know what to say, I didn’t know where to begin,” she told CNN. 

The mother told CNN that the student who created the post was white, and that the teenager was suspended and will potentially be expelled from the school. 

However, Judith Medor said she remains concerned about the safety of Jamar and her younger son, Jake, who attends a different high school and reportedly received a FaceTime call from someone after the image of Jamar was posted. 

The person in the call repeated a racial slur before hanging up, the mother said. 

In a statement issued to the school on May 7, Fairfield Warde Principal Paul Cavanna said “discrimination in any form is not tolerated” and that school officials were “working to support those who have been affected by this reprehensible act.”

Fairfield Public Schools Superintendent Mike Cummings in a letter sent to the district days later said officials were working to prevent similar incidents from occurring in the future. 

Updated at 10:17 p.m.