A Sacramento nurse who claims that she was fired over a Facebook post blaming Stephon Clark for his own death, is turning to the public for help. Faith Linthicum launched a Go Fund Me account to raise money for various expenses like rent, bills and food for herself and two dogs.
Linthicum, who worked at the Kaiser Permanente Roseville Medical Center and maintains that she was fired without an investigation or explanation, reportedly wrote on social media that Clark was killed by Sacramento police “for being stupid.” She’s accusing Kaiser of firing her for exercising free speech. The company has not announced the reason for her termination.
Clark, a 22-year-old father of two, was shot eight times times in his grandmother’s backyard. Police claim that they mistook him for a suspect who was breaking windows in the neighborhood. They opened fire after he ran, and allege that they thought he pointed a “gun” in their direction, (it turned out to be a cell phone). But an independent autopsy report contradicted police statements as it concluded that Clark was shot in the back six times, which means that he was facing away from authorities.
“He was running from the police jumping over fences and breaking in peoples house…why run??!!! He deserved it for being stupid,” Linthicum reportedly wrote on Facebook.
On her GoFund Me Page, Lithicum explains that she is a “veteran who served as a medic and then fulfilled my dream of taking care of people be coercing a nurse,” and goes on to state that she was “recently fired” for exercising her First Amendment right. She also says that she has been getting press “due to a misconception from an activist group here in Sacramento,” and is a person of faith who loves “all people and treats everyone equally.”
After only four days, Linthicum is close to reaching her crowd funding goal of $25,000.