Judge's Clerk: Mourn Deer, Not Cops

New Jersey judge's clerk Leslie Anderson thinks the death of a deer is more tragic than the death of a state trooper—and if she had kept that opinion to herself, she might still have a job. Instead, she posted comments on Facebook, including on New Jersey News 12's page, describing the death of State Trooper Anthony Raspa as "not that sad, and certainly not 'tragic,'" the New York Daily News reports. Raspa, 24, died when his patrol car hit a deer on Saturday, and Anderson said it was "sad and heart wrenching for the family members left to suffer the consequences of the Trooper's recklessness—especially for the deer family who lost a mommy or daddy or baby deer."

Anderson—who called grief over the trooper's death "absurd, nonsensical, and completely unwarranted"—was suspended from her position at Middlesex County Superior Court after her comments came under fire and she resigned on Wednesday, the Press of Atlantic City reports. Chris Burgos, president of the New Jersey State Troopers Fraternal Association, wrote to court authorities saying someone who "spews as much hatred as Anderson has done regarding the line of duty death of a NJ State Trooper can no longer be entrusted to be an impartial officer of the court." He tells the Press that "greater minds prevailed here and there was a realization she is not fit to hold this position." (A Catholic priest in NJ says he was fired for a pro-gay Facebook post.)