Alleged sexual misconduct, including station strip teases and sex acts some of which occurred on or in apparatus, has led to the resignation of one Petaluma Fire Department employee and discipline action against others..
According to a story published by the Petaluma Argus Courier, young personnel allegedly invited a local woman into Station 1 on D Street during the late night an early morning hours for strip teases and sex acts.
Further, the newspaper reported there were allegedly photos taken and distributed among staff depicting the woman in various states of undress, some of which were woman solely in the department gear.
The investigation into the alleged conduct was sparked by an anonymous letter detailing the alleged misconduct at the department’s downtown headquarters, the newspaper reported.
The city manager and the fire chief received the unsigned letter in late December, the newspaper reported. The letter indicated the misconduct lasted six-months.
The newspaper said the letter sparked an investigation by City Manager John Brown and Fire Chief Leonard Thompson.
Thompson said that 90 percent of the letter was inaccurate, save one “one egregious thing,” the newspaper reported.
The city officials declined to provide the name or details of those involved, but the paper reported that a firefighter paramedic resigned in January.
Brown said there was no indications that group activities, including strip teases or lap dances were performed at the station.
Citing confidentiality statues, neither the city manager nor the fire chief would provide information about the employee who left or why.
The paper reported the investigation found there was an individual involved with a young woman at the station, but found no actual evidence they had been on or in city equipment. He said there was evidence of inappropriate behavior.
Brown told the paper the individual involved no longer works fo the department and that’s all the mattered to him. He declined to provide additional details.
