cyber-casualty

A South Carolina firefighter has been terminated over several social media posts that were found to be racist. Georgetown County firefighter Bob Kosto was fired last week one day after county officials were informed of the posts.

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Sometimes I feel like I can write the headlines and the story before they occur, and just fill in the details later. That is certainly the case today. Three firefighters in two states are facing disciplinary actions following offensive protest-related social media posts.

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A Boston firefighter who was fired last year over incendiary social media posts has filed suit to challenge a state civil service ruling that upheld his termination. Octavius Rowe was fired by the Boston Fire Department on April 30, 2018 following a lengthy investigation.

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The family of a man killed in a house fire has filed suit against Polk County Fire Rescue and a former captain who was at the center of a subsequent YCMTSU incident. The fire on October 11, 2017 claimed the life of Edward McLaughlin, 78. Six other occupants escaped the early morning blaze.

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A Louisiana firefighter who was fired for referring to his fire district’s board of commissioners as “a board of clueless idiots” on Facebook, has lost his First Amendment lawsuit to get his job back. Joseph Larry Moreau, Jr. was fired by St. Landry Fire Protection District No. 3 last year.

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The Massachusetts Civil Service Commission has upheld the termination of an outspoken African American firefighter from Boston who was terminated for his offensive social media posts. Octavius Rowe, a 15 year veteran, was fired on April 30, 2018 after a lengthy investigation.

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A social media post advocating the extermination of immigrants being held in detention camps has impacted two North Carolina firefighters, a father and a son, and two different fire departments. Caleb Folwell was a career firefighter at the North Chatham Fire Department.

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Two Brevard firefighters have been fired over a social media post that criticized the city manager for wearing a military uniform to a memorial day parade that was a mix of two different branches. Former firefighter Richard Carl Travis shared a photo of Brevard City Manager Jim Fatland on Facebook along with the comment...

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Two captains with Palm Beach County Fire Rescue have filed suit claiming the department violated their First Amendment rights by disciplining them for their social media posts. Captain AJ O’Laughlin and Captain Crystal Little filed suit in Palm Beach County Circuit Court last week.

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A fire lieutenant in Denver has resigned and is facing criminal charges following allegations that he placed a hidden camera in a female firefighter’s room, and then tried to destroy evidence once the camera was discovered. Daniel Flesner is facing felony charges related to his placing of a hidden camera in the dorm room of one of his subordinates

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Today’s burning question: Regarding your post on violating the First Amendment rights of firefighters by banning picture taking while on duty, a government agency would likely have the right to ban personnel from another governmental agency from filming at their incident scene for the same reasons you mentioned that an employer can ban them, and also because of a compelling interest in maintaining the safety of the citizens and their employees. Am I missing something?

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A Polk County, Florida fire captain is facing tough questions about his actions at the scene of a fatal house fire last November. Loretta Pickard died in the fire on November 23, 2018. Polk County Fire Rescue Captain James Williams was suspended for sending a Snapchat video from the scene.

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A Pennsylvania EMT is facing criminal charges for sending inappropriate electronic content to an underage female patient. Joshua Patterson is accused of sending a sexually-explicit photo of himself to a 15-year-old girl he treated after an accident on November 15, 2018.

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Some folks just can’t seem to keep themselves out of the headlines. For instance, take FDNY’s Joseph Cassano, who was suspended yesterday after he was cited for trespassing on the Jersey Shore. Cassano, the son of former Fire Commissioner Sal Cassano, has been in the Fire Law Blog news at least six times prior to today.

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