Hospital Fires Nurse Who Said ‘Stupid’ Stephon Clark Deserved to Die
LatestA California hospital has fired labor and delivery nurse Faith Linthicum after she shared a Facebook post stating that Stephon Clark, 22, who was shot repeatedly in the back and killed by Sacramento police, “deserved it for being stupid.”
The Sacramento Bee first reported Linthicum’s firing by a Kaiser Permanente hospital in Sacramento, following a social media effort earlier this week by activist Christina Arechiga. Arechiga said she spotted some of Linthicum’s comments online and decided to denounce them.
“I gave birth at Kaiser in Sacramento, it was a horrifying experience plagued with racist nurses and doctors,” wrote Arechiga, whose own cousin was shot 13 times and killed by a police officer. “Kaiser Roseville Women And Children’s must do something about these racists once they out themselves. How can we trust our lives, the lives of our black and brown babies to these people?”
Arechiga’s anger was prompted by statements from Linthicum that asked, “Can we protest the deaths of all the people shot by black people too?” She added: “Yeah but he was running from the police jumping over fences and breaking in peoples houses… why run??!!! He deserved it for being stupid.”
In a statement to the newspaper, the healthcare company said:
“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.”
Arechiga said Linthicum, who has since set her Facebook and Instagram accounts to private, threatened to sue her for defamation.
Meanwhile, retired NBA forward Matt Barnes, who played for several teams including the Sacramento Kings, is leading a rally on Saturday calling for unity and action following the shooting death of the unarmed Clark, who was killed in his grandmother’s backyard. According to an autopsy by Dr. Bennet Omalu following the March 18 shooting, Clark was struck by police bullets eight times, with all but one hitting him in the back.
The shooting has prompted nationwide protests yet again over the killing of an unarmed black man by police.
“There’s stuff that’s bigger than basketball and this is it,” Barnes said on Saturday.