A white nurse from Sacramento, California was fired from a hospital for posting an insensitive comment about Stephon Clark, who was shot by police officers in his backyard.
Kaiser Permanente’s labor and delivery nurse Faith Linthicum at Roseville Medical Center, took to Facebook to leave a nasty comment about Clark’s death.
“Yeah but he was running from the police jumping over fences and breaking in peoples houses… why run??!!! He deserved it for being stupid,” the nurse wrote.
Activist Christina Arechiga noticed the remark and published screenshots of Linthicum’s post with the caption, “How can we trust our lives, the lives of our black and brown babies to these people? Nurses are supposed to help people not be happy when people die.” The screenshots soon went viral on social media.
Faith Linthicum Facebook Post Screenshotted by Christina Archega. (Daily Mail)
The nurse was initially placed on administrative leave, Kaiser Permanente released a statement confirming her termination.
“Kaiser Permanente does not tolerate hate or discrimination and has a long history of embracing diversity and inclusion – it remains a place where we welcome everyone… We want to emphasize that the comments expressed by this employee, who is no longer with the organization, do not in any way reflect Kaiser Permanente’s views or actions,” the medical company told SFGATE.
“We are very much a part of the wonderful and rich diversity of the communities we serve and feel a deep responsibility to them. We are deeply saddened by the events associated with Stephon Clark’s death, and will continue to do our part to make sure the community is healthy, safe and inclusive,” the statement added.
Linthicum’s comments follow a recent autopsy concluding that 22-year-old Clark was shot from behind by Sacremento police.
