Hudson Valley Firefighter, EMT Fired For Racist Facebook Post
A Hudson Valley EMT was fired following his Facebook post about George Floyd protests.
Robert Lukens was terminated by Mobile Life Support Services on Thursday.
"The comments and views of one employee absolutely do not reflect those of Mobile Life Support Services, its Administration, Management and most importantly its front-line workers," Mobile Life Support Services wrote on Facebook. "Out of fairness to everyone involved, we conducted a thorough internal investigation of the incident over the last couple of days and Mr. Lukens has been terminated from our employment. His behavior and statements are abhorrent. We do not condone his thoughts, feelings, words, beliefs or actions and will not tolerate bigotry or discrimination in any form."
A screenshot sent to Hudson Valley Post shows Lukens used a racist term to describe African-Americans who he says were "protesting" and "looting" following the death of George Floyd while in police custody.
Lukens, 48, is from Saugerties and is a firefighter and EMT in the region, according to his Facebook.
"Mobile Life Support Services has been faithfully serving the community for nearly 40 years. We boast a staff of over 450 diverse, caring, committed EMS providers of a multitude of ethnicities, orientations and beliefs who unwaveringly reported to work on the front lines of the COVID-19 crisis to provide care to those who were suffering. We look forward to continuing to serve the people of our communities for many years to come," Mobile Life Support Services wrote on Facebook.