By EMS1 Staff
NEW YORK — A paramedic and FDNY EMS union rep was threatened with a racially-charged letter after she tried to help a fellow EMT who had been suspended for hanging a noose in an ambulance.
NY Daily News reported that paramedic Keisha Brockington found a letter in her locker that threatened her life and called her the N-word.
“You stupid n----- better watch your back, talking all this crap,” the letter said. “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.”
The letter came after a fellow EMT was suspended for hanging a noose in an ambulance as part of a prank. The newly hired EMT, John Thornton, said it was meant for a co-worker who had just broken up with his girlfriend.
“He said it was a ‘You’re screwed, you should go hang yourself kind of thing,” a source said.
Thornton asked Brockington for help, and she directed him to a union vice president due to the severity of the matter.
Three weeks later, Brockington found the note in her locker.
“I’m still shocked that someone would do something like that,” she said. “I fight very hard for members when they’re in trouble, and for someone to leave that note, it felt like a stab in the heart.”
“The individual responsible for this vile, hateful message not only will be fired — but belongs in jail,” Fire Commissioner Daniel Nigro said in a statement.
NYPD’s Hate Crimes Task Force is investigating the incident.