HollyMatkinRoseville, CA – A Sacramento nurse who voiced her opinion regarding the officer-involved shooting death of Stephon Clark has been fired from her job.
Faith Linthicum, a military veteran, worked in Kaiser Permanente’s Roseville Medical Center in the labor and delivery department up until Thursday, the New York Post reported.
Linthicum took to social media after the Mar. 18 fatal shooting of Clark, a 22-year-old burglar who shattered the window of an elderly man’s home before pointing an object towards officers that was later determined to be a cell phone.
Instead of blindly following misinformation circulating in the media, Linthicum challenged the narrative, and presented the facts.
“Yeah but he was running from the police jumping over fences and breaking in peoples houses…why run??!!! He deserved it for being stupid,” she posted to Facebook.
On Mar. 23, her comment was spotted by Christina Arechiga, a self-proclaimed activist who already held the belief that the Kaiser medical center was “plagued” with racism, according to a post on Arechiga’s Facebook page.
“I gave birth at Kaiser in Sacramento, it was a horrifying experience plagued with racist nurses and doctors,” Arechiga alleged. “Kaiser Roseville Women And Children’s must do something about these racists once they out themselves.”
She compiled comments and photos of Linthicum from her social media profile, and issued them along with a post blasting the nurse.
“This women works in labor and delivery,” Arechiga wrote. “How can we trust her with our black and brown babies?”
In addition to Linthicum’s comment about Clark, Arechiga also ridiculed her for her views on protests and illegal immigration.
“Can we protest the death of all the people shot by black people too?” Linthicum wrote.
“He’ll yeah!!! Build that wall Mr. President!! # prototypeshopping,” she said in another post.
Although nothing in the nurse’s comments were actually racist, Arechiga demanded that she be fired from her job, declared her a “racist,” and alleged that Linthicum was “happy when people die.”
According to The Sacramento Bee, Linthicum was initially placed on administrative leave pending investigation of her online comments. Late Thursday evening, the company publicly denounced the nurse.
“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,” Kaiser said in a statement. “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.”
On Sunday, Linthicum confirmed that she had been fired for her comments.
“I am a proud supporter of this great Country, the First Amendment, the rule of law, and law enforcement,” she wrote on a fundraising page. “I was recently fired from my job as a nurse at Kaiser Permanente for exercising my First Amendment right to free speech.”
She disputed allegations that she was a “hateful or discriminatory person,” and said she had been treated unjustly by “an activist group,” by the media, and by her former employer.
“Kaiser Permanente fired me without any investigation, and without giving me an opportunity to explain or defend myself,” Linthicum explained. “I believe Kaiser Permanente violated my First Amendment right to free speech in order to protect themselves from the wrath of these activists.”
According to Arechiga, Linthicum contacted her via Instagram, and told her she planned to contact an attorney regarding a defamation lawsuit, The Sacramento Bee reported.