Fire Law Blog Fire Service and Public Safety Legal Issues Blog by Curt Varone
It is an occurrence that has become all too familiar: a group of young firefighters set out with the intention of hazing a younger member, but in the end the hazers end up arrested.
The latest occurrence was in Vermont involving members of the Hyde Park Town Fire Department and the North Hyde Park/Eden Fire Department. On March 23, 2012, Sydney Mclean-Lipinski, 25, Joshua Kapusta, 24, and Nate Jobe, 21, decided to haze a firefighter cadet by restraining him and shooting him with airsoft guns.
According to Vermont State Police, the trio intended to “restrain the juvenile with handcuffs and ropes, then take the juvenile for a ride in the back of a truck on bumpy roads where they would leave him in a remote part of the Town of Eden.” The plot came undone when the youth escaped. The three firefighters have been charged with unlawful restraint and simple assault. They are due in court on May 30, 2012.
Over the last few years we have seen cases of hazing result in arrests in numerous other states including Connecticut and New York, and as well as other cases where the members involved were disciplined/terminated. For that reason, many department have adopted a zero-tolerance policy toward hazing.
