A Black FDNY union rep was the target of a racist hate letter after trying to help one of her colleagues who was reprimanded for hanging a noose in an ambulance, reports the New York Daily News.
In August, a noose was discovered in an ambulance by an EMT who was working at Keisha Brockington’s station, the outlet writes. After the EMT alerted upper-level management, John Thornton—another EMT—took responsibility and claimed that the noose was meant to be a joke for someone on his team who had just ended a relationship with his girlfriend.
“He said it was a ‘You’re screwed, you should go hang yourself kind of thing,” a source told the Daily News.
After news quickly spread about the incident, Thornton reached out to Brockington for advice and she told him to contact the EMS union’s vice president, the outlet writes. Thornton, who was a new hire, was later suspended and his probationary period was extended for 6 months.
Weeks after the controversy, Brockington found an anonymous letter in her locker at the FDNY EMS Station 22 in Staten Island. It read “You stupid n—– better watch your back, talking all this crap. You better watch your back when you start your car up. Nothing better than a dead n—–. Trying to get innocent people fired for a funny prank,” according to the Daily News.
Shocked by what she discovered, Brockington not only reported it to her supervisor but she ended up filing a police report as well. “To me, that letter is a coward move,” she told the outlet. “If you have an issue with someone, you should be able to address it face to face.”
Police say that the NYPD’s Hate Crimes Task Force has launched a probe surrounding the incident.
In August, a Florida firefighter recruit was terminated and three others resigned after a noose was found hanging over a black firefighter’s seat.
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Continue reading 52 Black Men And Boys Killed By Police
52 Black Men And Boys Killed By Police
The troubling trend of police killing unarmed Black people has shown no signs of letting up, from Tamir Rice to Botham Shem Jean to Emantic "EJ" Fitzgerald Bradford Jr.,, there appears to be nearly a new shooting every week.
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Take a look below at the growing gallery of unarmed Black men and boys who have been shot and killed by police.