Paramedic posted meme of KKK member and car hitting protesters, Louisiana company says
A Louisiana-based ambulance service has fired a paramedic accused of posting a meme depicting violence against protesters, along with several other inflammatory and racist images to his Instagram page.
On Tuesday, Acadian Ambulance Service confirmed it had let employee Jamie Bergeron go after mounting backlash over his social media posts.
“Mr. Bergeron’s employment with Acadian Ambulance Service has in fact been terminated,” the company said in a statement posted to Facebook. “The posts and underlying insensitivity and disrespect shown by the posts are not in any way representative of our Company, our beliefs and values, and the extraordinary work of the men and women who work for Acadian.”
Acadian’s post no longer appears on Facebook.
The posts in question were shared to Bergeron’s Instagram account, which is now private, the Lafayette Daily Advertiser reported.
One of the memes read “all lives splatter” and “no one cares about your protest” alongside a drawing of a car driving into a group of stick people, according to the newspaper. Another post read: “Protest all you want, it’s your right,”another meme read. “But please stay off the highway and interstates. My brakes have been acting up.”
Bergeron, who also fronts south Louisiana music group “Jamie Bergeron and the Kickin’ Cajuns,” also posted a photo of a man in a grocery store wearing a Ku Klux Klan hood, the Daily Advertiser reported.
The Cajun crooner has enjoyed a successful music career and recorded at least seven albums with his group while serving as a paramedic for almost 30 years, according to The Acadiana Advocate.
Acadian Ambulance spokesman Randall Mann said the company doesn’t condone discriminatory or racist behavior by staff.
“The management and 4,800 employee-owners of Acadian Ambulance Service value the trust the public places in us to care for them,” Mann said, according to the statement. “Derogatory actions by any employee who blatantly violates that trust will not be tolerated.”
Bergeron has since apologized for the posts, telling Lafayette station KATC he didn’t intend to offend anyone.
“For 30 years, I have worked as a passionate paramedic for Acadian Ambulance and have cared for all walks of life,” he told the news station.
“When I walk up to a scene, I treat the patient; I see no color,” he said. “I would ask that people consider my many years of saving lives and helping people - of all races. That is my heart and that is me. Judge me from that.”
The embattled singer also posted a video messageon Facebook.
Many on social media have come to Bergeron’s defense citing the First Amendment, but Mann said the company has a social media policy “that extends to employees’ personal accounts if they ID themselves as Acadiana Companies employees,” The Advocate reported.
The company initially suspended Bergeron after his social posts sparked criticism and angry calls to the company’s office, according to the Associated Press.
This story was originally published June 25, 2020 at 6:49 PM with the headline "Paramedic posted meme of KKK member and car hitting protesters, Louisiana company says."