MEDIC HIT BY HATE
RACIST DEATH THREATS PROBED IN S.I. EMS UNIT
A UNION REP who tried to help a fellow EMT cited for hanging a noose in an ambulance was rewarded with a racist letter calling her the N-word and threatening her life.
Paramedic Keisha Brockington, 41, was stunned and sickened on Aug. 29 after finding the hate-filled missive in her locker at the FDNY EMS Station 22 in Staten Island.
“You stupid n----- better watch your back, talking all this crap,” reads the type-written letter obtained by the Daily News.
“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 NYPD’s Hate Crimes Task Force has launched an investigation into the incident, police said.
Brockington, meanwhile, has spent the past week in fear for her life, starting her car remotely before stepping foot inside.
“I don’t think it was serious but God forbid if it was,” said the station’s union rep, who reluctantly agreed to discuss the case.
“I fight very hard for members when they’re in trouble,” Brockington added. “And for someone to leave that note, it felt like a stab in the heart.”
The disturbing series of events kicked off last month when an EMT assigned to Brockington’s station found a noose hanging from the ceiling of an ambulance.
The unidentified first responder reported it to his superiors — and John Thornton, a newly-hired EMT, immediately fessed up, saying it was a prank for a white colleague, sources said.
Word spread to several EMTs and paramedics in the stationhouse, including Brockington, sources said.
The next morning, she awoke to a text message from Thornton, 22, saying he needed to talk about a problem.
She directed him to a union vice president because of the severity of the incident.
Thornton, the son of retired FDNY Battalion Chief Terrance Thornton, told investigators the noose was a prank meant for a fellow EMT who had broken up with his girlfriend, sources said.
“He said it was a ‘You’re screwed, you should go hang yourself kind of thing,” a source said, summarizing Thornton’s thinking.
The FDNY suspended Thornton for 10 days and added six months to his probationary period. Roughly three weeks after the incident, Brockington opened up her locker to find the letter. “I’m still shocked that someone would do something like that,” the 17-year-vet told The News. She reported it to her supervisor and that night went to FDNY headquarters for an interview with the department’s Equal Employment Opportunity Office and Bureau of Investigation and Trials. The next morning, on the advice of her retired cop father, she reported it to the police. Fire Commissioner Daniel Nigro (below) was so incensed after learning about the letter on Thursday that he called Police Commissioner James O’Neill directly, said FDNY spokesman Frank Gribbon.
Nigro is removing Station 22’s chief officers and station captain, Gribbon said.
“The individual responsible for this vile, hateful message not only will be fired — but belongs in jail,” Nigro (photo bottom) said in a statement.
Thornton could not be reached Friday. His father, the retired FDNY chief, told The News he knew nothing about the incident and declined further comment.
Brockington has no idea who left her the letter — or why.
“I had no involvement whatsoever in the entire process except for the one text message I sent (Thornton),” Brockington said.
“To me, that letter is a coward move,” she added. “If you have an issue with someone, you should be able to address it face to face.”