Four first responders in Florida have been arrested after allegedly taking part in the “violent” hazing of a 19-year-old firefighter, authorities said.
According to a statement from the Marion County Sheriff’s Office on Wednesday, Nov. 26, Edward Kenny III, 22, an EMT, and firefighters/EMTs Seth Day, 22, and Tate Trauthwein, 19, were taken into custody on charges of kidnapping, battery and robbery in connection with the incident. A fourth suspect, 25-year-old EMT Kaylee Bradley, was charged with robbery and principal/accessory to robbery.
Marion County Sheriff Billy Woods said at a news conference that the hazing began on Nov. 16 at Marion County Fire Rescue Station 21 in Ocala, where the 19-year-old victim was on shift. It allegedly started with “grease being smeared on the victim.”
The situation then escalated, Woods said, when the four suspects pursued the firefighter into a parking lot because they wanted a TikTok video on his phone. There, they allegedly pulled down his pants after he refused to share his phone’s password.
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The sheriff said the group used a belt to strike the victim on his backside and then removed his underwear to hit his bare skin. The victim was then allegedly “dragged” through the parking lot to another area, where he was waterboarded three times with a towel. Woods said the firefighter “fought and refused to cooperate.”
The confrontation reportedly came to an end only when a call for service came into the station, according to the sheriff’s office.
Once Marion County Fire Rescue supervisors were made aware of the allegations, they contacted the sheriff’s office, prompting a formal investigation.
“What occurred was unacceptable, inexcusable and fundamentally contrary to the core values of our fire department,” Marion County Fire Rescue Chief James Banta told reporters, noting that all four suspects have since been terminated from their positions.
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The sheriff’s office said the booking photos of the suspects are being withheld under a state law that prevents the release of such images of law-enforcement personnel.
It is not yet clear whether any of the defendants have entered pleas or secured attorneys to represent them. Local station WOFL reported that all of the suspects, except Kenny, have been released from custody on bond.
Banta added that the victim is still employed at the station and declined to take any time off following the incident.
