Philadelphia

Daughter of Police Chief, Gay Beating Suspect Fired from Hospital

Kathryn Knott, Phillip Williams, and Kevin Harrigan all posted bail as they continue to defend their actions after beating up a gay couple.

One of the alleged attackers in a brutal assault on a gay couple in Center City was fired from her job at a local hospital Thursday.

Abington Health announced that 24-year-old Kathryn Knott was fired from her job as an Emergency Room Tech late Thursday afternoon.

"Effective today. September 25, 2014, Kathryn Knott has been terminated from her employment at Abington Health," the hospital said in a statement.

Knott, the daughter of Chalfont, Pennsylvania Police Chief Karl Knott, is one of three suspects charged with the beating of a gay couple on September 11.

Knott, Kevin Harrigan, 26, and Philip Williams, 24, are free on bail less than a day after they surrendered to police.

Authorities arraigned Williams, Harrigan and Knott on aggravated assault, conspiracy and other related offenses early Thursday morning and the group left their Center City jail cells a short time later, according to officials.

Despite the charges they face, the suspects -- through their attorneys -- insisted the gay couple instigated the fight when one of them threw the first punch."

But anti-gay slurs preceded the attack and old Tweets from Knott led others on social media to accuse her of homophobia.

Knott is also under fire for allegedly posting what appears to be the severed fingers of a patient on her Twitter account.

"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," a spokesperson for Abington Health wrote in an official statement Wednesday. "Abington Health takes patient privacy and confidentiality very seriously and is fully investigating this matter."

Knott's firing comes a day after she was suspended from her duties at Abington Health.

Copyright The Associated Press
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