Fire Law Blog Fire Service and Public Safety Legal Issues Blog by Curt Varone
Six New Jersey firefighters have been suspended or removed as an investigation is underway into allegations of sexual harassment of a female firefighter, sending threatening text messages, and forcing of a vehicle off a road.
The firefighters are all volunteers from the town of Hammonton, and reportedly all of the conduct involved members of the department as perpetrators and victims. According to Mayor Steve DiDonato, “It was all internal — volunteers allegedly doing this to other volunteers.” In other words, the public was not involved.
Pressofatlanticcity.com is following the story and quoted a former assistant chief from the department, Sam Sofia, as saying: “It’s ridiculous that it comes to this. … Some of the guys mentioned in your article I’m not very fond of … but a man is innocent until proven guilty. I don’t think they should be dragged around town and ridiculed for things nobody knows if they did.”
The mayor and the town council are overseeing the investigation. More on the story.
