MIAMI _ Six Miami firefighters have been fired after someone hung a noose over a black colleague's family photo and drew lewd images on pictures of his wife, mother and kids.
The terminations, handed down Wednesday, follow a police investigation into the Sept. 9 incident at a city fire station. More than 20 people were interviewed under oath and nearly a dozen firefighters were investigated, including five who remain employed by the department and under scrutiny. Among those fired: William Bryson Jr., the son of former Fire Chief William "Shorty" Bryson.
In a statement, Miami City Manager Daniel Alfonso acknowledged "sexually explicit and racially offensive conduct." He said initially, personnel assigned to the station were transferred. He said 11 firefighters were relieved of duty with pay.
"We cannot and will not tolerate behavior that is disrespectful, hurtful and compromises the integrity of the department and the City of Miami," Alfonso said.
According to Jose Rodriguez, the police major in charge of internal affairs at the time of the incident, police initially responded to the incident as a potential case of vandalism but ultimately carried out the probe as a civil investigation that was turned over to fire department executives. Sources familiar with the case told the Miami Herald that someone created a noose out of twine and hung it over a family photo of an African-American lieutenant.
Then, several of his colleagues drew lewd pictures on several other photos, including one of his wife and one of his mother and his children, according to sources. Termination letters sent Wednesday said that firefighters "defaced several personal photos of a fellow firefighter with graphic and obscene phallic renderings."
Along with Bryson, firefighters Kevin Meizoso, David Rivera, Justin Rumbaugh, Harold Santana and Alejandro Sese were fired Wednesday.
Sese came up with the idea of defacing the photos and retrieved them, according to the termination letters. Meizoso, Rumbaugh and Santana drew lewd, phallic images on the photos, and Rivera returned them to their picture frames. Bryson is accused of failing to stop the vandalism and of ignoring requests from subordinates to come forward and report the incident.
Investigators, however, could not determine who made the noose, according to sources.
Reached Wednesday, Rumbaugh and Sese declined interviews. Neither has hired an attorney.
"I apologize but I really have no comments today," said Rumbaugh.
Attempts to reach the other fired men weren't immediately successful. Freddy Delgado, president of Miami's International Association of Firefighters, said the union was made aware of the incident when it was discovered by Fire Chief Joseph Zahralban, but remains unclear about the facts of the investigation.
"We expect all of our members to be provided a safe, comfortable workplace and also to fair and complete investigations and just discipline when it's warranted," Delgado said. "We have not yet been provided with all the information that the city relied upon in making the decisions it did today. We are very disturbed by the allegations and look forward to the opportunity to review all the facts."
Under the city's civil service procedures, the fired firefighters can dispute their terminations. More employees could be punished in the coming weeks, although the discipline would likely come down as suspensions or demotions.
"It is the policy of the City of Miami to provide a workplace for all employees that is free from intimidation, threats or violent acts," Alfonso said.
The firings are shades of Pompano Beach, where in August a firefighter recruit was fired and three others resigned when a noose was found hanging over the seat of a black firefighter. They also come on the heels of a similar incident last year in Miami, two days before Christmas. That's when three rookie cops were fired after their supervisors discovered a group chat among the officers in which they discussed using black neighborhoods for target practice.
Miami firefighters making headlines is nothing new. The low point probably came in the late 1980s when a perverse hazing ritual called "scrotum on the head" was uncovered. Rookies were handcuffed as a way of being held back while other firefighters did their business. Eventually four firefighters were fired. But it wasn't long until they were reinstated after investigators determined that "scrotumizing" was an old tradition in the fire department.
Alfonso said the city will hold a news conference Friday morning to discuss the firings.
