Staffers at Riverside, Calif.'s Kaiser Hospital arrived at work one recent morning to find a doll with its face painted black and a racial slur scrolled across its chest hanging from a post in an employee-only area.
Kaiser is now investigating the incident, NBC Los Angeles reports. The hospital issued a statement that read: "We are moving to investigate the matter and will take appropriate action. We do not tolerate any form of discrimination in our workplace and will take all appropriate measures to address the full scope of this situation."
The employees who found the doll gave it to a manager and said they initially they didn't file a police report but turned the issue over to the hospital to investigate (as of this morning, at least one employee had filed a report, NBC reports).
Employee Tyree Hale says he believes that he was the target of the racist display because he's the first of his co-workers to arrive at work in the morning. Perhaps the saddest part of this outrageous story: Asked why he didn't file a police report, he said, "Sometimes we just shine it off because we're just trying to stay working and pay our bills."
Read more at NBC News.