St. Louis fire department takes situation ‘seriously’ despite explanations
By Jake Wagman
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
ST. LOUIS — The city has asked the FBI to investigate why a stuffed toy monkey — and perhaps a noose — were hung inside a fire department engine house.
Fire Chief Dennis Jenkerson said Tuesday that the department was taking the situation “very seriously,” but declined to provide further details. He said the incident was reported sometime in the last few days.
The black firefighters’ association also did not want to comment, but did provide pictures of the purported scene: The stuffed toy, wearing a striped shirt and overalls, is hanging by its neck from a strap on a coat hanger. There is a rope nearby, though it is difficult to tell if the rope is tied in a hangman’s noose.
Chris Molitor, head of the firefighters Local 73 union, said the stuffed animal had been found at a fire several weeks ago by personnel at the station, situated in the city’s Hamilton Heights neighborhood.
“It was put on the coat rack because it was wet and it was drying,” Molitor said. As for the rope, he said, it “has been attached to that coat rack for several years.”
Public Safety Director Charles Bryson, who oversees the fire department, said the rope was used for training.
“It is not a noose,” Bryson said. “It’s to practice tying knots.”
Even so, City Hall has turned over the inquiry to the FBI, which investigates hate crimes.
“In the current climate, we need to determine if it was a hate crime or wasn’t a hate crime,” Bryson said.
An FBI spokesman could not be reached for comment late Tuesday afternoon.
Racial tension in the city’s fire department has been especially high since ex-chief Sherman George, the first-ever African-American to lead the department, was ousted in October.
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