Jefferson Co. employee fired for Black Lives Matter post

Patricia Kloefkorn, court coordinator for State District Judge Raquel West, said protesters should ?get a job,? and ?since when did being black ... give you the right to shoot people.? Patricia Kloefkorn, court coordinator for State District Judge Raquel West, said protesters should ?get a job,? and ?since when did being black ... give you the right to shoot people.? Image 1 of / 3 Caption Close Jefferson Co. employee fired for Black Lives Matter post 1 / 3 Back to Gallery

Saying the comments were "inappropriate" and "offensive," a Jefferson County district judge on Tuesday fired her court coordinator for remarks the woman posted on Facebook over the weekend about the Black Lives Matter movement.

Patricia Kloefkorn, court coordinator for State District Judge Raquel West, posted, among other things, on her personal Facebook account Sunday that Black Lives Matter protesters should "get a job" and "since when did being black ... give you the right to shoot people."

Kloefkorn, 58, also accused President Barack Obama of creating the environment that led to recent killings of eight police officers in Dallas and Baton Rouge.

After it was announced that Kloefkorn had been terminated, West said in a prepared statement that the court's integrity is her top priority.

"Inappropriate and offensive comments made by court personnel will not be tolerated," West said.

Jefferson County does not have a countywide social media policy for employees, though the sheriff's office recently adopted one of its own, said Assistant District Attorney Kathleen Kennedy, who runs the office's civil division.

Kennedy said while county employees maintain First Amendment rights,"government employers can restrict speech that affect the entity's operations."

There is a draft social media policy for county employees, but it has yet to reach a public forum, said Kennedy. The proposed policy had been put on hold in recent months because of scheduling, she said.

The draft policy, which Kennedy said should be ready for commissioners court to consider in a few weeks, would prohibit employees from discussing open investigations or sharing documents obtained from the job.

Last fall, the city of Port Arthur introduced a social media policy after three police officers and a civilian employee were accused of posting profanity-laced, racially-tinged remarks on an invitation-only Facebook group.

The PAPD employees - a sergeant, a detective, an officer and a civilian who works in the evidence room - allegedly used foul language to refer to First Lady Michelle Obama and activist Al Sharpton.

Their comments offended some of the group's subscribers, who reported them to the city.

None of the employees were fired because of their posts.

Port Arthur's new social media policy "gives more specific direction than the personnel manual does," Port Arthur city manager Brian McDougal said. "We wanted to make sure the employees know what the parameters are," he said.

Jefferson County Judge Jeff Branick, who will vote on any proposed social media policy for county employees, said he is willing to defend the right to express ideas, even when in disagreement.

Branick acknowledged comments made by employees working in different county offices could be deemed more damaging than others, complicating the idea of a uniform social media policy.

"I think that anybody ought to be able to express any opinions they want to express," Branick said. "They also need to be cognizant of the fact, that particularly when one works for a court as opposed to the county or district clerk, and the court is charged with fair administration of justice, maintaining the appearance of propriety and fair treatment, some of their posts can affect the public's perception of the court's fairness."

West's court, where Kloefkorn worked, handles criminal cases.

Social media policies are difficult to navigate, said Orange County District Attorney John Kimbrough.

Orange County officials suggested writing a new social media policy last year. The county's most recent policy was adopted in 2013.

It deals mostly with county associated accounts and requires employees to offer a disclaimer separating their views from the county's.

"You've got to kind of control what people do when they represent your office, but they have a First Amendment right to the expression of ideas," Kimbrough said. "It's a very difficult balance between those two things."

Hardin County's social media policy, which also requires employees to separate their personal views from the county's, says off-duty employees "may use (social media) to express their thoughts or promote their ideas as long as they do not conflict with County policies or business." It also says "ethnic slurs, personal insults or language that may be considered inflammatory should be avoided."

Kloefkorn, who did not respond to requests seeking comment, expressed anger in her post in the hours after three Louisiana law enforcement officers were gunned down and three others were injured in Baton Rouge.

Just 10 days earlier, a gunman killed five Dallas police officers and wounded nine others as a Black Lives Matter protest concluded.

These killings came after two black men were fatally shot by police, first Alton Sterling in Baton Rouge on July 5 and Philando Castile in Falcon Heights, Minnesota on July 6.

"With (Kloefkorn) being a public employee, the question comes down to whether that posting affects the government entity's job, or that court," Kennedy said.

BScott@BeaumontEnterprise.comTwitter.com/BrandonKScott