A Coronado city official who was placed on administrative leave in January following allegations that he and his wife made racist statements toward Asians in a video, has resigned, a city official said Thursday.
Tina Friend, City of Coronado manager said in a statement that she has accepted the resignation of the City’s Director of Recreation and Golf Services.
"This decision was made with careful consideration of the best interests of the City, our residents, and our larger community. A resignation allows a separation to take place and the City to move forward without delay," Friend said in a statement.
Friend said that the resignation has ended the investigation into the incident.
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The allegations surfaced following the release of a video allegedly featuring the city employee, and his wife, Sandra Miller.
The video's poster, who said the incident occurred at a weekend in Newport Beach, alleged that prior to filming, the couple made racist comments, including statements about Chinese people spreading COVID-19.
In the video, the couple is seen in a parking structure walking away from the person recording the video. The woman in the video is heard saying, "I love that we are not in their country. I love that we are not communism. I love that very much.'' Later she says to the person filming, "America is a free country. Go back to China.''
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Friend's statement continues, "We know that this issue is of great interest to many people both within and outside the City of Coronado. The City understands the impact this situation has had on our employees and our community. I want to be very clear that the City remains a welcoming place to all, and we do not tolerate any form of racism or other discrimination."
Linfield Christian School, a K-12 school in Temecula, posted a statement online following the viral video that stated Sandra Miller had been terminated from her job at the school.
The school's statement said that it was "aware of the video involving Ms. Sandra Miller. After speaking with Ms. Miller regarding the incident, Linfield has terminated her employment immediately. The statements made by Ms. Miller do not reflect the beliefs of Linfield, are inconsistent with Linfield's mission statement and fail to meet the behavior Linfield expects employees to model for its students.''
