Fire Law Blog Fire Service and Public Safety Legal Issues Blog by Curt Varone
Today’s burning question: A candidate for city council stopped by my fire station to pick up something from the union president, who works with us. The candidate asked us to pose for a photo with him in front of our truck and of course we agreed. Now we are being disciplined. Can they do that?
Answer: If posing in the photo constitutes engaging in election campaigning while on duty, and particularly if the photo is used in the candidate’s campaign, some discipline may be inevitable.
That’s what five Pinellas Park, Florida firefighters found out when they were disciplined over a photo they posed for while on duty and in uniform. Lt. Andrew Dezso, FFs Andrew Lusher, Daniel Swinger, Richard Dudley and William Dallam, received varying penalties, from written reprimands to suspensions without pay.
The photo was taken on January 21, 2012 when City Council candidate Eddie Kosinski stopped by Station 34 to pick up an endorsement letter from IAFF Local 2193 President William Dallam. While there, Kosinski asked the crew to pose for a picture with the engine and rescue vehicles in the background.
Roughly three weeks later, Kosinski posted the photo on his campaign web site. The posting was brief. When firefighters learned that the photo was online, union vice president Brett Schlatterer called Kosinski to have it taken down. According to Kosinski, the photo was only posted for 8 to 10 hours.
Pinellas Park’s Fire Chief, Doug Lewis, was quoted as in the Tampa Bay Times as saying that campaigning while on duty violates “one of our rules and regulations in the city. It’s not just a rule but the Florida statute was broken.”
Kosinski claims he had no idea the photo was in any way improper, and attributes the discipline to the fact he is running against a candidate who has the backing of a majority of the council. He was quoted in the Tampa Bay Times as saying: “It’s dirty politics and I don’t like it.”
There is a nagging question in my mind about this case. Posing for a picture is posing for a picture. Campaigning for election while on duty is another activity – one that may involve posing for pictures with candidates, but only if you know the purpose of photo before the photo is taken.
According to the Tampa Bay Times, Kosinski says he told the firefighters the photo “will go good with your endorsement on my website.” However, not all the firefighters heard him say that, and President Dallam was quoted as saying “It was not my intent for that photo to be used with the endorsement.”
Florida has a Firefighter’s Bill of Rights. It is unclear if any of the discipline will be appealed.
