Hudson County Sheriff’s Officer Alex Pino has been placed on administrative leave, with pay, after writing an anti-Muslim, profanity-laced Facebook post directed at a West New York teacher last week.Â
By John Heinis/Hudson County View
Hudson County Sheriff Frank Schillari has directed his office to open an internal investigation, also notifying the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office, as soon as he became aware of the comments Pino posted on social media, he said in a news release this afternoon.
Pino has since been placed on administrative leave with pay and has had his service weapon withdrawn while the investigation continues.
“Comments like these are in no way reflective of my views or the views of the Hudson County Sheriff’s Office and they run contrary to our mission of making Hudson County safer for everyone,” Schillari said in a statement.
“We are taking this matter very seriously and we are conducting a full investigation. It is absolutely unacceptable to me for any member of this department to disparage any race, religion or ethnic group no matter the forum or the medium.”
“As officers of the law we must be held to a higher standard and I intend to do everything in my power to make sure that all residents of Hudson County know that the Sheriff’s Office stands for professionalism and respect for our entire community above all else.”
Schillari also pointed out that he and his command staff have attended numerous Muslim community events over the years and hired the first Muslim Investigator in the history of the Sheriff’s Office in 2013.
In the since deleted Facebook post in question, Pino went off on a long, angry rant against Mohamed Elmaksoud, a West New York teacher (post has been heavily edited for profanity).
