COLUMBUS, Miss. — Two Columbus firefighters and a Columbus police officer have received a 30-day suspension after they “liked” a firefighter’s Facebook post.
After a lengthy Tuesday night executive session between the mayor and city council, the three were handed their suspension, according to the Dispatch.
Columbus Firefighter Brad Alexander made a post on his Facebook post regarding an incident involving a 2-year-old being hit by a car. He questioned the whereabouts of the mother and voiced his frustration about the situation.
Firefighters Damon Estes and Erik Minga and officer Lance Luckey “liked” the post, that has since been removed.
After coming to the attention of Fire Chief Ken Moore, he met with Mayor Robert Smith to discuss disciplinary action.
The Dispatch reported that while Firefighter Alexander resigned, Chief Moore recommended that the three others involved receive 30-day suspensions. Firefighters Estes and Minga wrote letters of apology to the mayor and city council.
Officer Luckey reportedly objected to the suspension saying he was unable to see the entirety of Firefighter Alexander’s post on his cell phone.
Those in the executive session were originally split with their decision, half of the members agreeing to the 30-day suspension while the other half did not. After over an hour of debate, the suspension was settled on. The three can appeal their suspensions to the Civil Service Commission.