Man Fired After Being Caught on Video Yelling Racist Slurs in Utica

The man caught on a viral video yelling racist slurs at a woman in Utica has been fired, and banned from the institution where he worked.

Barry Wardell was caught on video yelling racial slurs from a vehicle on Genesee Street in Utica. Jakeila Phillips, the young woman who was the object of his tirade captured the outburst and posted it to Facebook, where the video quickly went viral.

In the video, Wardell says he works as a cook. Hamilton College say they were made aware of the video this morning.

Hamilton College President David Wipmann called the video "an extreme violation of our community standards" and said the man worked for their food service provider. Hamilton College has banned Wardell from campus.

The food service provider, Bon Appétit Management Company, acted swiftly to terminate Wardell.  "Although Bon Appétit Management Company’s usual policy is not to discuss individual personnel matters, because of the extreme and public nature of this act, we can state that the employee in question was hired in February and worked for us for one month before being placed on leave due to COVID-19."

The company goes on to say they have a "zero tolerance policy regarding racism. We condemn these vile comments whole-heartedly."

The New Hartford Police were at the home of Mr. Wardell yesterday for another incident reported by a New Hartford resident.

The Utica Police Department says they are investigating to see if any laws were broken.