BARTOW — For the second time in less than a month, a Polk County firefighter has resigned for posting photos on social media while he was working.
In this instance, Michael Ruby, who worked as a firefighter for Polk County Fire Rescue the past year, admitted to posting a photo on Snapchat showing blood on the floor of an ambulance while he was working, according to an administrative investigation report.
He violated the department's social media policy, digital imagery policy and public records policy by creating a record then deleting it, officials say.
Ruby would have been fired had he not resigned.
"Based upon the totality of the convincing evidence, and the seriousness of the violations, and the fact that he was still on probation, I recommend the immediate termination of Firefighter Michael Ruby," Assistant Fire Chief Rick Parnell wrote earlier this month.
In a resignation letter, Ruby apologized for his actions.
"I've learned many valuable lessons and have been placed in several stressful situations which have allowed me to grow into a better person and firefighter/paramedic," Ruby wrote.
Ruby resigned the same day as Capt. James Williams, a Polk County fire captain accused of posting photos and taking videos during at least two fires. An internal inquiry found that Williams violated three county policies related to shooting videos at fire scenes, including the public records policy by shooting videos then deleting the items.
Ruby posted other pictures besides the blood and discarded medical supplies seen in the ambulance photo he posted on Snapchat, including a picture of a dispatch screen showing a note from a call that was placed that also was posted on Snapchat, and a picture of a red Ford truck in the bay at the station that Ruby uploaded to Instagram. Roby told investigators the truck was his personal vehicle.
He told internal investigators he had posted pictures from work on social media previously — possibly five or six times, according to the report.
———
©2019 The Ledger (Lakeland, Fla.)
Visit The Ledger (Lakeland, Fla.) at www.theledger.com
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
