‘Protesters make great hood ornaments.’ Illinois nurse suspended after Facebook post

An Illinois hospital has suspended an employee over a social media post about protesters, officials say.

OSF Saint Francis Medical Center in Peoria was alerted to a Facebook comment by a nurse that said “protesters make great hood ornaments.” The nurse was responding to another person’s post threatening to hit people protesting on roads.

Across the U.S., demonstrators have taken to the streets to protest police brutality against African Americans after George Floyd, a black man, died after a Minneapolis police officer pinned his neck to the ground.

In a statement, OSF HealthCare said the hospital’s priority is all patients be “met with an environment of safety, justice, and equality.”

“We condemn any words or actions that seek to marginalize or harm others,” the hospital’s statement said. “Yesterday, we were made aware of a Facebook comment that contradicts those values, and the person who made that comment has been immediately suspended while a deeper investigation is underway.”

According to the hospital, its social media policy says “any individual who engages in abusive language, hate speech or personal attacks of any kind is subject to immediate disciplinary action, which in this case, has already happened.”

Peoria resident Jackie Crane told WMBD the nurse’s comment contradicts the duty to care for people.

“In her Facebook post in her private life she says she would hit them in the street like road kill,” Crane told WMBD. “Those two things don’t go together.”