Social Media

The Connecticut PIO who has charged with violating Joshua’s law on photo-taking by first responders, has filed suit against a police lieutenant, a Connecticut State Trooper and the Town of Montville alleging false arrest, malicious prosecution, abuse of process, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and civil rights violation actionable through 42 U.S.C. § 1983.

Read More »

In this episode of Fire Law Roundup for November 13, 2023, Brad and Curt discuss an investigation report into financial problems with fire companies in Jefferson Parish, Louisiana who are accused of misusing $8.5 million in taxpayer funds; the filing ...

Read More »

The ongoing saga of Boston firefighter Octavius Rowe suffered another setback as the Massachusetts Court of Appeals upheld his 2018 termination for making a series of racist and homophobic social media posts. Rowe, who served as vice president of Boston’s Vulcan Society, claimed he had been singled out for discipline for his posts while the city ignored comparably offensive posts by white firefighters.

Read More »

The initiation of a disciplinary investigation into social media posts by IAFF union officials in Tiverton, Rhode Island, has prompted a federal lawsuit accusing the town of wrongfully chilling the exercise of the firefighters’ First Amendment free speech rights.

Read More »

The US Attorney’s Office has announced it has both filed suit against the Baltimore County Fire Department for sexual harassment, and simultaneously settled the suit through a pre-arranged settlement agreement. The suit filed today alleges BCFD mishandled an investigation into the sharing of inappropriate photos of female firefighters.

Read More »

A civil suit brought by the family of a 16-year-old girl against a former firefighter and the City of Marco Island has been settled just before the case was scheduled to go to trial. Nicholas Macchiarolo was a firefighter with the Marco Island Fire Department in 2018 when he shared explicit photos with the girl via Facebook Messenger and Snapchat.

Read More »

The San Jose Mercury News has filed suit against the City of San Jose seeking to obtain records related to the fire department investigation into the Pink Poodle strip club incident and the reported discipline of members involved. The suit was filed in Santa Clara County Superior Court pursuant to the state’s public records law.

Read More »

Criminal charges against a Connecticut firefighter for violating an emergency scene photo-taking law, have been dismissed. Steven Frischling, the public information officer for the Chesterfield Fire Company, was charged in 2021 with violating Joshua’s Law.

Read More »

New York Governor Kathy Hochul signed Caroline’s/Bianca's Law into law today, making it a criminal offense to disseminate images of the victim of a criminal offense. The law was enacted by the state legislature last June after more than a decade of lobbying.

Read More »

A Nashville firefighter who was disciplined over a social media post is poised to accept a $450,000 settlement from the city. Josh Lipscomb, who besides being a firefighter is a comedian that goes by the stage name of Josh Black, was suspended for fourteen days for the Twitter post he made in February, 2022.

Read More »

A wildland firefighter with the US Forest Service has been arrested as part of sexual predator sting operation in central California. Mark McGill Jr. was arrested when he arrived in a Forest Service engine to what he thought was a rendezvous with a teenage girl in Fresno County.

Read More »

A Tennessee judge has issued a preliminary injunction barring enforcement of two Nashville Fire Department policies that regulate employee speech. The ruling came in a lawsuit filed by a firefighter who was suspended for calling the city council “white supremacists” in social media.

Read More »

A Columbia fire captain who was terminated after posting comments online that were critical of law enforcement following a shooting death of one of his relatives, is filing suit to get his job back. Captain Ameer Bagley was fired on April 10, 2020, just 3 days after the death of 17-year-old Joshua Ruffin.

Read More »

A San Francisco firefighter is facing a disciplinary investigation following a social media photo of him wearing a “Let’s Go Brandon” shirt while apparently engaged in fire department activities. The photo was posted on Twitter, and the poster tagged Mayor London Breed, a city supervisor, and the fire department, asking the question “is this the new official uniform for the SFFD?"

Read More »