A public school teacher in northern Georgia is no longer in the classroom after a video of her using racially charged language surfaced Wednesday night.

Jennifer Cooley is a first-year teacher at Murray County, Georgia, High School and a former deputy of the Murray County Sheriff’s Office.

On the video, which appeared on social media sites, Cooley can be heard saying “ni***r lips” and is seen puckering her lips. Laughter can be heard on the tape, though no one else is visible.

Mike Tuck, director of administrative services and communication for Murray County Schools, said he became aware of the video Thursday morning. He said the video appears to have been taken in one of the school’s classrooms.

“It says what it appears, even though it’s hard to hear,” Tuck said. “We certainly don’t condone that language. It’s inappropriate in any situation.”

WARNING: This video contains language which some may find offensive.

Tuck said Cooley met with Murray County High School Principal Gina Linder and Human Resources Director Ardith Bates this morning and is “no longer in class.”

He said school officials are investigating the circumstances surrounding the video.

Morgan Beavers, a student in Cooley’s Criminal Justice Essentials class, didn’t witness the incident on the tape, but spoke highly of her teacher and said Cooley is not the person some people are making her out to be. 

“She is a really good teacher, she made a bad decision, but that doesn’t make her a bad person,” said Beavers. “She’s one of the teachers that care and will give you the shirt off her back.” 

Beavers’ mother, Mindy Bridges, was more critical.

“I think it’s very offensive to the students that she teaches and it’s not a good example for them,” she said.

Bridges said she met Cooley at an open house for the high school this year. 

“It bothers me that someone responsible for molding our youth would say that,” Bridges said. “Did she stop to think how that would make her African American students feel?”

Murray County Sheriff’s Office Chief Deputy Brian Ingle said Cooley was hired at the sheriff’s office in June 2011 and left in August 2016 to teach. She had worked in Patrol, Court Services, DARE (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) and Animal Control.

Asked if she had been disciplined by the sheriff’s office during her time there, he said, “There are some reprimands in her employee file” but declined to provide details.

Ingle said he was “shocked” when he learned about the video.

“I’ve never heard her be inappropriate in that way,” he said. “We would definitely never tolerate that here.”

Cobb writes for the Dalton, Georgia Daily Citizen.