Captain fired in TX over Facebook image of noose around President Obama’s neck & other complaints
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hvR2mcjVQnk
Video above is February 1 story before Capt. Decker was fired
Read memo from La Marque Fire Chief Gerald Grimm outlining case against Capt. Alfred Decker
(Thanks to reader Billy Anderson for sending this latest SMACSS example our way.)
Captain Decker’s actions are demonstrable of a pattern of appalling, despicable, and unconscionable conduct by a public servant in uniform whose duty is to protect and serve the very public he exhibits obvious disdain for, and unbridled resentment toward.
That is one hell of a sentence and description of someone hired to be a public servant. It’s La Marque Fire Department (TX) Chief Gerald Grimm’s first sentence in the conclusion to his findings about Captain Alfred Decker. Decker has been in the news recently for a Facebook post of an image showing a noose around President Obama’s neck. It was announced today that Decker has been fired for that posting and a series of other issues.
So far, we have not seen a response from Decker to the latest developments. According to the Houston Chronicle, Decker previously indicated the image of President Obama “was provided by a veterans organization and that he didn’t realize that his page was publicly accessible”.
According to news coverage, Decker is certified as a firefighter, peace officer, fire investigator and fire inspector in Texas.
Here’s the rest of Chief Grimm’s summation (you can read his entire memo here):
The video above and stories below provide more information on the case against Captain Decker.
A fire department captain and peace officer who used a personal social media account to share an altered image depicting President Barack Obama with a noose around his neck has been terminated from the department, Fire Chief Gerald Grimm said Thursday.
An investigation also found that Alfred Decker last week directed that a fire-ravaged building be demolished before its owner could recover property from inside, Grimm said.
Decker showed a “wanton disregard” for the property owner’s rights, and removed a safe from the scene of the fire before returning it several hours later, according to the termination notice issued to the longtime fire department employee.
His Facebook page also included a derogatory post about Houston Mayor Annise Parker. It shows a photo of Parker next to a news item saying the city of Houston was suing the Houston firefighter’s pension fund. Decker wrote, “What a (expletive) (expletive)! Typical democrat what’s (sic) something for nothing! She wants her share that she didn’t earn!”
The house that Decker is accused of demolishing caught fire due to an electrical malfunction. Decker removed a safe from the home without legal authority, but refused to give the owner a chance to remove his valuables, the memo stated.
The removal of the safe was “a result of his obvious personal disdain and disrespect” for the owner, the memo states.
