YAKIMA, Wash. — A private ambulance company says two Washington state employees accused of making derogatory comments about Native Americans on Facebook are no longer working there.
A spokeswoman with American Medical Response, Tawnya Silloway, said in an email Thursday night that two are out.
The employees were placed on unpaid leave Tuesday as AMR investigated “culturally insensitive” comments made regarding a photo of a Native American teen on Facebook.
AMR responds to emergency calls through Yakima County and the Yakama Indian reservation.
The Yakima Herald-Republic reported that the local EMTs allegedly called Indians “useless,” ”losers” and “an infectious scab on society.”
The chairman of the Yakama Nation, JoDe Goudy, said he wouldn’t tolerate racist remarks from people who respond regularly to medical emergencies involving tribal members.
AMR officials have condemned the posts and said its regional director has met with Goudy to reaffirm their commitment to the community.
