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An executive for a New Jersey healthcare provider is on leave after she accused police of shooting black children.
Michellene Davis, the executive vice president and chief corporate affairs officer at RWJBarnabas Health, posted underneath an article about a New Jersey school district hiring armed police officers.
“Who is going to train them not to shoot black children first?!?” Davis posted.
At first, Davis tried to say that her Facebook page had been hacked and asked others not to accept anything new from her account, according to the Cresskill-Closter Daily Voice.
On Thursday, the controversial post was removed and she posted an apology.
“I want to publicly apologize for an extremely insensitive and offensive comment posted on facebook,” wrote Davis, who also served as the acting state treasurer for the state of New Jersey. “My concern for the safety of schoolchildren and gun violence led me to react to a headline without thinking.”
“Having a late sister and other family in law enforcement I deeply respect the law enforcement community and appreciate their service and admire their sacrifice,” she said. “To all law enforcement families, the community, and to my employer, RWJBH I offer a sincere apology.”
RWJBarnabas Health press secretary Ellen Green released a statement that said, “Official social media outlets are the only statements that represent the views and policies of the organization.”
The company’s chief corporate affairs officer released a statemetn that said Davis “has been placed on administrative leave pending the completion of an investigation.”
Fair Lawn PBA President Luis Vazquez said that Davis’ apology was a “step in the right direction.”
“We are held to the highest standards and pride ourselves in our professionalism and our love for our community, especially our schools and children,” Vazquez wrote, according to the Cresskill-Closter Daily Voice.
Davis made the list of the Top 25 Minority Executives in Healthcare by “Modern Healthcare” according to the Cresskill-Closter Daily Voice. She is the first person of color to serve as an executive vice president in the history of RWJBarnabas Health, the Cresskill-Closter Daily Voice reported.