Firefighter suspended for 12 hours after painting racist symbol on ax
An Orange County firefighter was suspended for 12 hours after leaving a city-owned ax with a confederate flag at the scene of a house fire.
Assistant Fire Chief Jeff Holton’s son admitted to painting the flag on the ax, which was left at a black man’s residence after firefighters extinguishing flames from his burning home.
…when a fire department lieutenant saw the ax with the flag painted on it, he told a supervisor about it and took it away before the homeowner saw it. A few days later, the son of Assistant Fire Chief Jeff Holton admitted he had painted the flag on the ax.
Holton told investigators he did it to “touch up” the ax at Station 42 and said to him it signified his small town roots and core values of family and hard work. He denied being racist or intending to offend anyone.
Despite conducting regular equipment checks, most of the firefighters at Station 42 including supervisors, have denied ever seeing the Confederate flag. Holton has 10 days to appeal the punishment.
Should Holton have received a longer suspension for his son’s actions?
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