Woodbridge police dispatcher loses job after joking about brutality

WOODBRIDGE — A township police dispatcher has resigned amid an investigation into a racially charged comment posted to social media.

Marc Repace, a civilian employee, was suspended from his position Sunday "after it was determined that he had posted unauthorized comments to Facebook," township spokesman John Hagerty said.

A day later, Repace submitted his resignation and was terminated from his employment, Hagerty said.

A Facebook post by Brian Ricks featured screenshots of the comment that had been reported to the township.

The unidentified person's story showed a photo of a black boy at a protest holding a sign that said, "At what age do I go from handsome to a threat?"

Repace appeared to have replied "17 give or take a year or two," before then also appearing to have said “LMFAO totally kidding.”

The undisclosed person appeared to have written back, “You are absolutely disgusting," while noting Repace had been in the military before working for the township and "fit the stereotype."

In a Sunday Facebook post, Woodbridge police said the department was "saddened and dismayed by a recent social media post attributed to one of its civilian employees.

"The Woodbridge Police Department does not condone this type of behavior from any of its personnel and is dedicated to the fair and impartial administration of justice for every member of our community," the post said.

According to at least two acquaintances who graduated with Repace, he was in the Woodbridge High School Class of 2017.

The original photo of the 8-year-old boy at a protest was shared May 29 by a CBS TV reporter in Boston, Nick Emmons of WBZ as seen on Twitter:

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