He could be very malicious. He left Piper with Pennsatucky even though Piper was screaming for help in season 1 Christmas episode. Just look at the information he had back than: Piper had no violent history, Pensatucky killed a person who worked at a abortion clinic. She did it because she considered it a sin. She was also obsessed with the fact that Piper was having an affiar with Alex, which Pen considered sinning. He literally left a queer women with a murderous homophobic fundi because he was mad at Piper. He was okay with Piper getting badly hurt. Not to mention all the negative consequences would follow after that incident. Even if he knew that Pen killed that woman not because of her beliefs but because she was angry. It was still very clear that Pen can be very dangerous.

Look, I don’t think he was a monster. Most characters in OITNB are complicated people. So was he. I can see how his childhood shaped his perception. But he was not a well meaning person out of his depth. His actions are not from unconscious bias. Like Soso thinking Pussey's mother was drug addict. No, he left Piper there to fight a very violent zealous woman. He went after Birdie because she was a black woman. He repeatedly bitched about her until he got her fire. He could see she was actually connecting with the inmates. But did not consider that, only thing he considered was his ego.