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Firefighter Fired Over Facebook Post of Virtual Firefighter Video
HATZEL VELA
WCSC 5
Reprinted with Permission
COLLETON COUNTY, SC - A Colleton County paramedic and firefighter was fired over a video he posted on Facebook.
Related
On February 11, Jason Brown was called into the director's office and questioned about the video he posted the previous night.
The Facebook post takes you to a YouTube-like site, where a video almost three minutes in length shows an exchange between two cartoon characters at a hospital.
One is a doctor, the other a paramedic.
In a letter of dismissal Brown provided, Colleton County Fire-Rescue Director Barry McRoy said, "You [Brown] displayed poor judgment in producing a derogatory video depicting a member of this department with a physician which is implied to be at Colleton Medical Center."
"There was no malicious attack to anybody involved personally or countywide or any certain department ever," said Brown, who spent two hours making what he described as a text-to-movie video.
On the web site xtranormal.com, you can create characters and even make them look like you. Users can type in a script and the cartoon-like character will say what you write.
"I'm not trying to make any doctor or any nurse look stupid," Brown said.
He said he wasn't even talking about Colleton Medical. He only used the name of a doctor who works at that hospital because he had recently seen him at a party.
It was supposed to be a funny, exaggerated and an almost unbelievable story of real life on-the-job experiences, Brown said.
"It's just general things that go on in the day-to-day business of us running calls within any fire department, any EMS," he added.
The dismissal letter also said, "This video has created an embarrassing situation for this department, our public image and the cooperative relationship we enjoy with Colleton Medical Center. It reflects poorly on you and Colleton County."
Brown appealed the decision, but his appeal was denied.
[See the rejection of appeal letter (pdf).]
Brown never meant any harm, he said.
"If I knew it was going to give me this much headache, I never would have made it in the first place," he added.
Brown said he was told his video was racist because the cartoon character playing the doctor role was African-American and during one of the exchanges the character said, "I don't want to lose my job and go back to being a janitor."
"That was never, ever in my actions or even thoughts when I made the video," Brown said.
When making the video, a black doctor was the only option offered, he added.
Getting fired was a little overboard, he said.
McRoy wouldn't give details about the Brown's firing because he said he couldn't discuss personnel matters.
But he said the Facebook incident wasn't the only reason Brown was fired.
Brown said he has never been seriously reprimanded and points to the dismissal letter as proof the Facebook post was the only reason he was fired.
If asked to take down the post, he would have done it and that would have been the end, he said.
Brown said after he was fired, he was escorted to the station where he returned all his gear, while two officers supervised him.
"I felt like a criminal," he said.
Prior to working at Colleton County Fire-Rescue for three and a half years, he worked at Berkeley County EMS and Goose Creek City Fire.
He said he left those two places because Colleton County paid more.
WCSC 5
Reprinted with Permission
COLLETON COUNTY, SC - A Colleton County paramedic and firefighter was fired over a video he posted on Facebook.
Related
- Colleton County Disciplinary Policy
- Brown's termination Letter
- Rejection Appeal Letter
- STATTer911: Watch Out, This Could Be a Firing Offense
The Facebook post takes you to a YouTube-like site, where a video almost three minutes in length shows an exchange between two cartoon characters at a hospital.
One is a doctor, the other a paramedic.
In a letter of dismissal Brown provided, Colleton County Fire-Rescue Director Barry McRoy said, "You [Brown] displayed poor judgment in producing a derogatory video depicting a member of this department with a physician which is implied to be at Colleton Medical Center."
"There was no malicious attack to anybody involved personally or countywide or any certain department ever," said Brown, who spent two hours making what he described as a text-to-movie video.
On the web site xtranormal.com, you can create characters and even make them look like you. Users can type in a script and the cartoon-like character will say what you write.
"I'm not trying to make any doctor or any nurse look stupid," Brown said.
He said he wasn't even talking about Colleton Medical. He only used the name of a doctor who works at that hospital because he had recently seen him at a party.
It was supposed to be a funny, exaggerated and an almost unbelievable story of real life on-the-job experiences, Brown said.
"It's just general things that go on in the day-to-day business of us running calls within any fire department, any EMS," he added.
The dismissal letter also said, "This video has created an embarrassing situation for this department, our public image and the cooperative relationship we enjoy with Colleton Medical Center. It reflects poorly on you and Colleton County."
Brown appealed the decision, but his appeal was denied.
[See the rejection of appeal letter (pdf).]
Brown never meant any harm, he said.
"If I knew it was going to give me this much headache, I never would have made it in the first place," he added.
Brown said he was told his video was racist because the cartoon character playing the doctor role was African-American and during one of the exchanges the character said, "I don't want to lose my job and go back to being a janitor."
"That was never, ever in my actions or even thoughts when I made the video," Brown said.
When making the video, a black doctor was the only option offered, he added.
Getting fired was a little overboard, he said.
McRoy wouldn't give details about the Brown's firing because he said he couldn't discuss personnel matters.
But he said the Facebook incident wasn't the only reason Brown was fired.
Brown said he has never been seriously reprimanded and points to the dismissal letter as proof the Facebook post was the only reason he was fired.
If asked to take down the post, he would have done it and that would have been the end, he said.
Brown said after he was fired, he was escorted to the station where he returned all his gear, while two officers supervised him.
"I felt like a criminal," he said.
Prior to working at Colleton County Fire-Rescue for three and a half years, he worked at Berkeley County EMS and Goose Creek City Fire.
He said he left those two places because Colleton County paid more.
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Larry G Jones- Singing Comedian on -
I can't believe he got fired for this!
Unbelievable!!!
They need to get a sense of humor! The only criminals are the one's you fired Jason Brown!
Jason, You now DOUBLE qualify for Free tickets to my Las Vegas show (Firefighter AND Unemployed).
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Permalink Reply by Tom Aiello on -
Some one has a rather large ego....
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Permalink Reply by Ben Waller on -
I do, too...a slander lawsuit by the physician against the recently-terminated firefighter-paramedic.
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Permalink Reply by John Rulli Jr. on
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OMG! HE has a lawsuit for sure! FREEDOM OF SPEECH!
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Ralph, I'll look into my depts rules, but i don't recall ever hearing or reading any such thing in my bylaws. I understand we are looked up to by the civilian eye but we are entitled to our own opinion. I think its total bs my man got fired for a video. Its also bs you got called into the principals office over venting on facebook. I know you agree with me on the its our constitutional right to voice our opinion. Further more if a Doctor made a video with the ff/medic being bashded do you think he would lose his job I think not.
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Permalink Reply by Michael Brittain on -
I agree with Ralph Carr. When I read this I was thinking that there was one of two things happening here. Either 1, there is more to this guy than is in the article. Or 2, there has possibly been a lot of little things like that happening for that dept. and they decided that there needed to be an example.
Regardless, you can't just yell freedom of speech when you act like that. I had an instructor when I first got into the fire service tell us all that we are the "Last American Hero" and it seems truer every day. Acting like this even in "silliness" is really not acceptable.
I hope this guy is able to find another job in the service, but I also hope that this example is one that holds it's value. We are hero's and we need to act as such... on and off the clock.
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Permalink Reply by Greenman on -
Even if this was the latest incident and was the "straw that broke the camel's back," an employer cannot use an employee's use of protected speech as a reason to terminate him.
I read the termination letter, and the only thing cited in the termination letter was the animation he posted on his Facebook page. If this was indeed the last straw type of incident then clearly the employer should have cited a "pattern of misconduct" or similar language, which they did not; the Director of the Fire-Rescue Department focused solely on FF Brown's posting of his animation on Facebook.
You don't have to agree with others say, but they do have a right to express their opinions. The form and the medium of personal expression don't really matter; the fact that it is protected speech does.
This is different than if he had posted evidence of his wrong-doing (i.e. drunken party photos, skiing while on disability leave, etc...), which would be grounds for termination. This was one American expressing an honest opinion on his own time in the form of a parody, which is protected speech under the U.S. Constitution and upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court.
Greenman
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Permalink Reply by J.D. Young on -
I agree 100%. We don't know anything else that might have happened before this. Was this the "final straw".
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Permalink Reply by Phil Towne on -
I can not delieve they fired him over a something that had nothing to do with his job. Its not live he did it on dept. time. I small a law suit that they might not win, i don't think they have good ground to stand-on.
I wish you the best of luck!
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Permalink Reply by Ben Waller on
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It did have something to do with his job. The person that created and posted the video has a professional relationship with the physician he identified by name in the video. That physician provides medical control to that county's firefighter-paramedics when he is on duty. Further, the physician may have grounds for a lawsuit against the firefighter-paramedic.
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Permalink Reply by Engine 32 Capt. on -
What a joke. After reading the article, then watching the video, I don't see how anyone could associate this with their employees or department. Sounds like a tad bit of over-sensitivity to me.
By the way, that's not a doctor. It's a black Colonel Sanders.
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