Family Court Fires Employee Caught in Viral Video Making Racist Statement, Tearing Down BLM Signs
Michael Henkel, who had worked as a supervisor writ server in the First judicial District's Family Court, has been terminated for multiple violations of the Unified Judicial System's Code of Conduct and the Non-Discrimination and Equal Employment Policy.
June 15, 2020 at 05:15 PM
2 minute read
A Philadelphia Family Court employee caught on a viral video tearing down signs supportive of the Black Lives Matter movement and then making a racist comment has been fired.
According to a court spokesman, Michael Henkel, who had worked as a supervisor writ server in the First Judicial District's Family Court, has been terminated for multiple violations of the Unified Judicial System's Code of Conduct and the Non-Discrimination and Equal Employment Policy.
The court's announcement comes after a report from The Philadelphia Inquirer identified Henkel as the person who was seen in the video tearing down signs that had been put up in a South Philadelphia park as part of a family-friendly march that took place June 12.
"The court takes the incident very seriously and believes Mr. Henkel's behavior as shown in the video is egregious and totally unacceptable for an employee of the courts," spokesman Martin O'Rourke said in the emailed statement.
On Monday, the Inquirer reported that the man in the video was Henkel, a 61-year-old South Philadelphia resident, who has been a Family Court employee since 1992, and most recently worked as a writ-service supervisor.
According to the Inquirer, the 34-second video initially posted to Facebook shows Henkel tearing Black Lives Matter signs from a fence at Columbus Square park, at 12th and Reed streets. An exchange between Henkel and a woman who said she lived near the park ended with the woman telling Henkel, "Black lives matter," to which Henkel responded, "Not to me they don't."
The Inquirer also noted that the Facebook page, which has since become unavailable, had more than 800 comments and 2,000 shares by noon Monday.
The Inquirer article also noted that, according to city payroll records, Henkel has a base salary of $71,591.
A message left at a number that appeared to be associated with Henkel was not immediately returned Monday afternoon.
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