Driver Suspended, Video Of Snow Plowed On Orthodox Jews Probed

Lakewood NJ

31 January, 2022

6:23 PM

Description

LAKEWOOD, NJ — A driver for a private garbage collection company has been suspended in the wake of a video posted to social media showing a snow plow throwing snow onto two Orthodox Jewish men on Saturday. The incident is under investigation, Lakewood police said, by police and the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office. Neither would comment on the incident or the investigation on Monday. The video, first reported by The Lakewood Scoop, shows two men in traditional Orthodox Jewish clothing walking along a road in Lakewood. As the truck approaches the two men, the plow lowers and begins throwing snow, as the driver and the passenger, who was recording the video, start to laugh. The video originally was posted to Facebook but is no longer visible there, but it was recorded and shared on Twitter. The man who posted the video is an employee of Waste Management, the company confirmed in a statement. It said the man was off-duty at the time. "The hateful conduct depicted in this video is unacceptable and does not reflect the values of inclusion and diversity we hold as a company," the Waste Management statement said. "The employee is suspended while we investigate this incident, but we can confirm that this behavior will not be tolerated from any WM employee and we will not employ those who act in this way." "We are absolutely disgusted by this video footage which appears to show a snow plow operator intentionally and callously targeting two Orthodox Jewish men," the Anti-Defamation League said in a tweet. "This conduct is as dangerous as it is disturbing and we urge the victims to file a report with the @Lakewood_PD." The two men who were hit by the snow and slush have been identified and will press charges, News 12 New Jersey reported. The man who posted the video has disabled his Facebook account, and the man who was tagged in the video has deleted all of his public information. Sign up for Patch alerts and daily newsletters here, or download our app to have breaking news alerts sent right to your phone. Have a news tip? Email [email protected] Follow Lakewood Patch on Facebook.