A fire chief and an assistant fire chief in Fort Walton Beach have been suspended for allegedly repeatedly using inappropriate language in their station including racial and homophobic slurs.
According to a report published by the Northwest Florida Daily News the commissioners of the Ocean City Wright Fire Control District slapped Fire Chief Billy Lord with a 45-day suspension and Assistant Chief Scott Funchess with a 30-day suspension after an investigation. Both officers will serve their suspensions without pay.
A labor law attorney took three hours to present information in the 138-page report detailing the findings of the investigation which began in June, according to the newspaper report.
The labor attorney, Mark Bonfanti of Tallahassee, told the commissioners that Chief Lord used racist language by his own admission and Assistant Chief Funchess admitting to using “a derogatory term in relation to sexual orientation,” the newspaper reported.
“Chief Lord used racist language by his own admission and was making an effort not to use that language,” Bonfanti said.
Funchess also admitted to using “a derogatory term in relation to sexual orientation.”
Bonfanti said during his investigation, many of the people he interviewed said there was a mistrust toward the chiefs and reports were not made about the language because those with complaints were afraid of job loss, the paper reported. The attorney said there was no evidence the chiefs wrongfully fired anyone in the past.
There was no evidence of bullying or belittling firefighters, Bonfanti told the commissioners.
The suspension conditions also included requirements that both chiefs attend managerial seminars to include diversity and cultural training. The chiefs would also have to sign last-chance agreements that would mean immediate termination for any further violations, the newspaper reported. The paper also reported the commissioners voted to create a human relations department independent of the fire district and change its polices.
The newspaper reported that the vice president of the Professional Firefighters of Walton County, Dominick Maestre, appreciated the commissioners’ action.
“In our line of business, you see PTSD and suicide,” Maestre said to the newspaper. “… Leaders should not subject men and women to this behavior. It should not be tolerated.”
