Prison officer filmed in video mocking George Floyd killing

A corrections officer who participated in a counterprotest to a Black Lives Matter demonstration in New Jersey in which people reenacted the death of George Floyd has been suspended after the video was widely shared on social media.

In the 18 second clip, protesters march along a street in the Franklin Township in Gloucester County on Monday, local time, chanting “George Floyd!” and “Black Lives Matter!”.

As they pass a private property a man kneeling on the neck of another man shouting unintelligibly back at protesters can be seen.

The protesters, who are being escorted by police, shout back.

Two more men are standing nearby and one of them is filming on a mobile phone.

The group is standing on the roadside in front of a pickup truck outfitted with an American flag and a Trump banner.

An ‘All Lives Matter’ sign is also hanging.

Another truck shows the “thin blue line” flag, meant to show support for law enforcement workers.

The video has garnered tens of thousands of views and shares on social media.

George Floyd, a black man, died after he was pinned to the pavement on May 25 by a white Minneapolis police office who put his knee on Mr Floyd's neck for eight minutes and 46 seconds, even after Mr Floyd stopped responding.

Protests have been held in cities and towns around the world calling for an end to police brutality and systemic racism.

The New Jersey Department of Corrections put out a statement Tuesday afternoon, local time, that said it was made aware that one of its officers participated in the filming of a “hateful and disappointing video that mocked the killing of George Floyd.”

“The individual has been suspended from their post and banned from NJDOC facilities pending a thorough and expedited investigation,” the statement said.

It's unknown which of the people in the video works for the Department.

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Another person in the video is reportedly a FedEx employee, who has since been suspended, a company spokesman told The Courier Post.

A statement from Police Chief Brian Zimmer and Mayor John Bruno said they were “appalled and saddened by the revolting actions of certain individuals.”

Governor Phil Murphy condemned the stunt Tuesday night on Twitter, saying the state won't “let the actions of a few distract from our progress toward dismantling systemic racism”.

“Mocking George Floyd’s murder in effort to belittle the calls for justice from our Black and Brown communities is repugnant,” Mr Murphy tweeted.

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