The Los Angeles Fire Department has kept on its staff firefighters who committed domestic violence, solicited a prostitute on duty, and committed a battery on a law enforcement officer, according to an investigation by the Los Angeles Times.
The LAFD reportedly fired zero firefighters in 2021, which is the most recent year for which data on this was made available. During that time, however, firefighters were found to have committed domestic violence, falsified medical records, and made racially offensive remarks, according to the Times probe.
"One firefighter made off with a Los Angeles Fire Department cellphone last year and used it to solicit a prostitute while on duty. He then abandoned his dispatch post at the department’s downtown communications center, which handles 911 calls, drove to a hotel near Los Angeles International Airport and had sex with her before returning to work," the LA Times wrote in its investigation, noting that the firefighter in question was not fired.
Another firefighter who wasn't terminated for his actions reportedly "drove with a blood-alcohol level nearly 2½ times the legal limit, resisted arrest and committed a battery on a law enforcement officer," the outlet found.
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In a third example, the LA Times found that three LAFD firefighters had reported that their captain kicked a homeless man "in the head with his steel-toe boot while the man was lying motionless."
"One witness said the blow was so hard that he heard the man’s teeth 'clank together,'" the investigation showed.
The Times also interviewed authorities involved, many of whom called for reform when it comes to when firefighters are terminated in Los Angeles.
"A spokesperson for Mayor Karen Bass said in an email to The Times that she 'has no tolerance for misconduct at the Los Angeles Fire Department or anywhere else especially when racism, sexual harassment and violence are involved. She expects — and the people of Los Angeles deserve — reform,'" the LA Times wrote. "Bass’ office did not respond to questions asking for specifics on such reforms."
