Social Media

Miami Firefighter Terminated For Social Media Comments

A Miami firefighter has been terminated for comments he made in a group chat relative to the murder of a Miami-Dade police officer. Kevin Newcomb, a nine-year veteran of the department, was fired one day after he posted the following comment about the death of Officer Cesar Echaverry:

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Wisconsin IAFF Local President Fired Over Social Media Post

The president of a Wisconsin International Association of Firefighters local was terminated last week over a social media post that criticized understaffing over the Memorial Day weekend. Spencer Nett, president of IAFF Local 5026, was terminated by the Dells-Delton EMS Commission on August 4, 2022.

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Court of Appeals Strikes Down Palm Beach County Social Media Policy

The US 11th Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that a social media-related First Amendment lawsuit filed by two Palm Beach County fire captains may proceed, reversing a district court ruling from 2020. In doing so the court struck down the fire department’s social media policy as being a prior restraint on employee speech.

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FDNY Suspends Nine Over Racist Memes

Nine FDNY firefighters have been suspended without pay following an investigation into racist memes. It is not clear when the suspensions actually took place but confirmation of the discipline became public in a New York Times article published last week.

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Kentucky Chief Under Investigation Over Blackface Photo

A Kentucky fire chief is under investigation after a 20-year-old photo of him wearing blackface makeup surfaced. The Anderson County Fire District started the investigation following the disclosure of the photo during a contentious disciplinary hearing for a former battalion chief on August 19, 2021.

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LAFD Investigating Captain’s Vaccine Rant

A Los Angeles City fire captain is under investigation for a social media rant about the city’s new COVID19 vaccine mandate. Captain Cristian Granucci posted the video on YouTube yesterday condemning the city for enacting it and the union for being in "lockstep with total tyranny."

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