Taftville, CT, Firefighter Suspended Over Facebook Comment About Mayor
Norwich — A Taftville firefighter who called Mayor Swarnjit Singh a “ragtop” in a public social media comment has been suspended for 90 days by his brother, the fire department’s chief.
Singh, who is the state’s first Sikh mayor, wears a dastaar on his head, one of the traditional articles of faith for religious Sikh men.
A post in the Norwich Community Forum, a Facebook group, on Sunday had asked users to answer the question “Which town in Connecticut has the worst mayor?”
Volunteer firefighter Tom Jencks, who formerly was the department’s deputy chief, replied, “Norwich with the Ragtop.”
Jencks’ comment appears to have been deleted. But Facebook user Arnold Alina, a local videographer, had already reposted a screenshot of the comment within minutes, altered to feature the Taftville fire department’s logo. It was then reposted by Al Mayo, a New London fire lieutenant and local food reviewer and social media influencer.
Jencks, the current assistant chief in Scotland, could not be reached for comment Thursday.
Jencks’ brother, Taftville Fire Chief Timothy Jencks, verified that it was his brother who had made the Facebook comment, and issued a statement Thursday that said the department does not tolerate or condone any racist or discriminatory behavior.
“To be clear, there is no place for hateful language or behavior within our organization, and amongst our members,” the statement said. “We have promptly addressed the issue, and have remained committed to fostering an environment that is respectful and inclusive for all.”
The chief said that as a result of the incident, he will require the department’s firefighters to undergo a diversity training class.
Singh said that after he saw the comment online, he received a call from Timothy Jencks, who was “very apologetic” over his brother’s behavior.
“I am not demanding anybody to be terminated,” Singh said.
Singh said he told the city’s human resources director, Rob Scalise, about the comment and that Timothy Jencks had called him, so that the information could be documented.
He said he told Scalise to call Timothy Jencks, and that if Scalise was satisfied with the fire department’s corrective action, he too would be as satisfied. Scalise could not be reached for comment Thursday.
Singh added that Jencks asked him not to judge his whole department by one person’s comment.
Singh has been targeted before
This is not the first time the mayor, who took office in December, has said he has faced comments ridiculing his faith, including being referred to as a “towelhead.”
Singh maintains that education is the proper response.
“It has always been to combat hate and ignorance through education,” the mayor said.
He said that is a reason he helped create the Sikh Art Gallery on Clinic Drive.
At this week’s budget hearing, he asked that money be included in the professional development account for cultural competency training.
“We are a very diverse community,” he said.
Singh said the Yantic fire department has undergone such training in the past.
Alderwoman Jill Zuccardy, one of several city councilors to weigh in Thursday on Tom Jencks’ comment, said it was hard for her “to fathom having to deal with that level of overt racism or xenophobia.”
“I don’t really have a playbook for how I would handle that,” Zuccardy said. “It’s a complicated situation, because we don’t know if that’s been traditionally tolerated, or if this is a one-off.”
Alderman Peter Nystrom, often seen as a champion of the volunteer departments, denounced the comment as “rude and derogatory” but said the comment might be a byproduct of peoples’ frustration toward Singh.
“Not everybody is happy. They can’t believe he won. ... People are looking for costs to go down. And taxes to be less. They’re still waiting for his promise of affordability,” Nystrom said. “If that has elicited that response, I’m not going to defend the person doing that, but I know why they’re upset.”
Nystrom said that in his eight years as mayor, he was the subject of derogatory comments, too, leading him at one point to go to lawyers to discuss a potential defamation suit. The difference is that those comments were not based on his faith.
Singh’s faith practices
“The reason why a Sikh wears a turban, or a dastaar, is because it’s a public commitment,” explained Harjot Singh, the federal policy manager for the Sikh Coalition, the nation’s largest Sikh civil rights organization. “It’s a commitment to maintaining the values and ethics of the Sikh tradition, which include service for humanity, compassion and honesty. And fighting for justice.”
Harjot Singh called the turban, along with the untrimmed hair underneath, a “distinguisher” of someone who has committed to the values of the Sikh faith by being initiated into the religion. He said Sikh men have maintained their commitment to these articles of faith since the religion was founded in the Punjab region of South Asia, during the 15th century.
Harjot Singh said that the dastaar has caused Sikh men to be the targets of faith-based discrimination since they began arriving in the U.S. in the early 1900s and that the discrimination worsened after the 9/11 attacks in 2001. He said that since the FBI started recording anti-Sikh incidents in 2015, the data has consistently shown Sikhs are among the five most targeted religious groups. In 2024, they ranked third, after Jews and Muslims.
“It’s just unfortunate how even despite representation and attempts made at raising as much awareness as possible, this sort of hatred exists,” he said.
He said the “solution is confronting this hate with more education, more facts and more conversations.”
© 2026 The Day (New London, Conn.). Visit www.theday.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.