News (USA)

Hospital suspends suspect in Philly gay bashing as new allegations surface

Hospital suspends suspect in Philly gay bashing as new allegations surface

Kathryn Knott, one of three individuals charged in the beating of a Philadelphia gay couple, has been suspended from her job at a local hospital, and new information indicates she is also being investigated for alleged privacy violations and a series of tweets dating to 2012 that call into question her father’s professional ethics.

WPVI-TV reports that Knott — who is now facing charges of criminal conspiracy, aggravated and simple assault, and reckless endangerment in connection with the Sept. 11 attack — is alleged to have tweeted out confidential medical information such as patient X-rays.

A statement issued by Lansdale Hospital on Wednesday reads:

“We can confirm that Kathryn Knott has been employed at Lansdale Hospital since May 2011. Because of the nature of the charges against her, she has been suspended from her job as an Emergency Room tech.

We are investigating an additional issue that was brought to our attention related to this employee’s Twitter account for potential violations of patient privacy and our organization’s social media policy. Abington Health takes patient privacy and confidentiality very seriously and is fully investigating this matter.”

WPVI is also reporting that Abington Township Police are investigating a number of tweets alleged to have been posted by Knott in 2012 when her father, Karl Knott, was a lieutenant in that town’s police department.

Knott-tweets
WPVI-TV

Karl Knott is now Police Chief in suburban Chalfont, Pa.

Additional Twitter history by Kathryn Knott, including a number of homophobic posts, have been chronicled here by gay rights activist Scott Wooledge.

Knott’s attorney, Louis Busico, has denied that her involvement in the Sept. 11 attack was motivated by anti-gay bias.


Update: Hospital terminates Knott’s employment

Thursday, Sept. 25, 2014

WPVI-TV reported Thursday that Kathryn Knott was dismissed from her position at Abington Health’s Lansdale Hospital, where she has worked since 2011.

Abington Health released the following statement: “Effective today, September 25, 2014, Kathryn Knott has been terminated from her employment at Abington Health.”

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