A screenshot taken from Kenny Parrish's TikTok video that calls George Floyd a "menace to society."
(Facebook Photo)
The city of Bloomington says it terminated its contract with Ken's Westside Service and Towing after a video surfaced on social media where the owner's son makes comments that support the killing of Minneapolis man George Floyd.
Kenny Parrish is the son of Ken Parrish, the owner of Ken's Westside Service and Towing.
On Wednesday night, Kenny Parrish posted a video on TikTok where he belittles George Floyd.
"That officer did us a favor, he was a menace to society," Kenny Parrish says in the video. "He didn't need to be on the streets, cause clearly putting him in prison was not working. Sorry, he needed to go."
Kenny Parrish was wearing a Ken's Westide Towing employee uniform in the video, which was viewed by thousands of people and shared across multiple social media platforms.
"I can't express in words my disappointment in my employee who has taken upon himself to post the most disgusting opinions of some of the things going on in today's world," owner Ken Parrish says in an apology on Facebook. "I'm not going to try and hide the fact that this employee happens to be my own son. He was not raised this way."
Ken Parrish ends the apology by saying his son has been fired from the company.
Ken's Westide has a contract with the city to tow vehicles at the request of police and parking enforcement officers, but after the video went viral, the city terminated that contract.
"The employee's odious post prompted our quick response," City of Bloomington Communications Director Yael Ksander says in an email. "The contract we have in place with Ken's' Towing allows either party to terminate the contract for any reason with seven days notice."
Ksander says the seven days started Thursday when the city issued a letter stating the termination.
"The personal offensiveness of watching videos and knowing that represents just a tip of the iceberg of racial conflict that remains, is why we are going to be working very hard together as a community to keep finding ways to improve our community and its justice, fairness and racial equity," Mayor John Hamilton says.
