Brief Probe about Camera in Delray Beach, FL, Fire Chief's Office Draws Ire

The fallout over a Ring camera discovered in Delray Beach Fire Chief Ronald Martin’s office continued into this week with criticism from the union president over what he said was a “double standard” when it comes to the city’s investigations of leadership compared to rank-and-file employees.

The investigation into Martin’s camera concluded on Aug. 5, a day after it began. City officials had received an anonymous complaint five days prior that described Martin’s placement of a camera in his office as “unauthorized and possibly illegal,” the city said. An investigator interviewed four people, including Martin, who said he had first placed the camera in his office last year due to a series of incidents he found suspicious, including the discovery of pornographic magazines, a bottle of bourbon, and chewing tobacco in his desk. The city found Martin to be in violation of policies for not receiving permission or telling anyone about the camera, and the city manager issued him a “verbal counseling.”

Last week, the city released records of the investigation to the South Florida Sun Sentinel, which include five recorded interviews beginning about 9 a.m. and ending about 10:30 a.m. on Aug. 4. The length of the investigation spurred criticism from Craig Mahoney, the president of the Delray Beach chapter of the International Association of Fire Fighters, who told the Sun Sentinel Tuesday that he has been getting complaints from some firefighters about the discipline Martin faced compared to the sometimes months-long investigations faced by rank-and-file members.

“City leadership holds firefighters to one standard and its directors to another,” Mahoney wrote in a Saturday letter sent to city commissioners, Martin and his executive staff. “Our members are removed from duty at the first hint of an allegation, and their investigations often linger for months. Here, the investigation began four days late and was finished in a single day.”

The recent criticism comes less than a year after a fire truck crash with a Brightline train, which had spawned investigations into four members of the fire department, some of which had to do with the crash itself and others with the city’s handling of driver license suspensions. Martin had released the names of the four employees under investigation immediately following the crash, leading to backlash from the union over what it considered a lack of due process.

The Brightline crash was not specifically cited in the letter, but Mahoney said it was one of many months-long investigations. Another city investigation into Delray Beach police officers’ response to a 2023 off-duty car accident involving the driver who was later fired after the Brightline crash concluded this week, clearing all of the officers.

The camera investigation

During the investigation, city investigators briefly spoke to Chief Martin as well as a deputy chief, three assistant chiefs, an IT manager and Martin’s executive assistant, according to a report.

Of the recorded interviews, Martin’s lasted 25 minutes; the remaining interviews were all under 10 minutes.

Martin told the investigator that strange events had begun the second day of his job, when he discovered a pack of cigarettes, a can of chewing tobacco and a lighter in his credenza. He then sent himself personal email with the subject line “Note to Self” about what he had discovered, according to a copy of the email. A few weeks into his tenure, Martin limited access to his office to only himself, his executive assistant, the IT manager and the cleaning crew. His executive assistant retired on Friday.

When he returned to his office after Thanksgiving, Martin said he found his door open. He decided to bring in the Ring camera, which he said he had used in his offices in the past. Then, in the aftermath of the Brightline crash, Martin said he was looking for records for an audit he was performing on training when he opened a bottom drawer and found the pornographic magazine and a half-consumed bottle of bourbon.

“I’m like, this is concerning to me,” Martin told the investigator, according to a recording of his interview. “Is it a holdover from my previous person? Is somebody trying to set me up for something?”

He said he was not trying to “secretly surveil people” and did not pay for the subscription that allows Ring camera users to view past recordings. Most of the time when he was notified of activity in his office he would see the cleaning crew or his executive assistant inside, he said.

Martin also said the camera gave him solace due to attacks he had been receiving from “outside entities” since the Brightline crash. In the months after the crash, he had returned home to find “profanity-laced correspondence” on his car calling him a “carpet bagger” and telling him to go back to Louisiana. In June, he said he found the windshield wiper blades removed from his car.

The fire chief took a week off shortly after the Ring camera investigation concluded, though city officials have not clarified whether his leave was mandatory or by choice. City Manager Terrence Moore said he had spoken with Martin before he took the week off, and that it was for personal reasons, but did not say what the reasons were.

Mahoney’s letter also took issue with Martin’s criticism of the fire department and “allegations of trespassing and sabotage,” saying “unverified claims erode public trust and damage morale.” He has not received a response to the letter.

Martin has since returned to work, and declined to comment when reached by the Sun Sentinel, referring questions to a city spokesperson. The spokesperson did not return emails and calls about his absence or the union’s comments on the investigation.