PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. (CBS12) — A regular St. Lucie County Fire District Board meeting turned into a show of support for three firefighters who were fired following an investigation into hazing allegations, with nearly every public speaker urging district leaders to reinstate them.
The packed meeting lasted about three hours Wednesday. While board members spent part of the meeting discussing the district’s upcoming budget, much of the public comment period focused on criticism of Fire Chief Jeff Lee and the controversy surrounding the firefighters’ terminations.
Several speakers called on the board to bring the terminated firefighters back.
“I’m asking you respectfully to bring these firefighters home,” one speaker told the board.
Others questioned the district’s handling of the investigation.
“I think you’ve made a mockery of these three men,” another speaker said. “It seems like you retaliated against these guys.”
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Another commenter said to the chief, “I don’t know how you sleep at night.”
Last month, the St. Lucie County Fire District fired three senior firefighters and suspended two others over hazing allegations after videos surfaced showing rookie firefighters being shocked with a modified bug zapper.
Two of the terminated firefighters, Jordon Hutchinson and Christopher Baldwin, addressed the board publicly for the first time since their firings. Both questioned the integrity of the investigation that led to the disciplinary action.
“We were held accountable. They need to be held accountable,” Hutchinson said.
The former firefighters alleged district leadership retaliated against them after they raised concerns with the Board of Commissioners and filed internal grievances months before they were fired.
“There is absolutely a culture problem, and ultimately we were trying to address a problem, and in doing so this is what’s happened to us,” Baldwin said.
Fire Chief Jeff Lee also addressed the crowd, saying he has been trying for weeks to reinstate the terminated firefighters but is currently unable to do so.
“For anybody to assume, or make assumption that I don’t care about the people of this fire district, they’re wrong,” Lee said.
Lee also acknowledged that the district does not currently have a formal process for handling internal complaints involving the fire chief.
“I can’t fix that problem. The board has to fix that problem,” Lee said.
Hutchinson and Baldwin said they want their jobs back but are not willing to withdraw their complaints against the fire district and the chief.
“All we’ve been trying to do is make sure nobody else in this fire department ends up where we are right now,” Hutchinson said. “We’ve been trying to fix the process the entire time, and even after being fired, we’re still here today trying to fix the process.”
The dispute is now in arbitration.
During the meeting, a motion was also made to suspend both Fire Chief Lee and the district’s attorney, but the motion failed.
Fire Board Chair and Port St. Lucie Mayor Shannon Martin was absent from Wednesday’s meeting . Board members did not provide a reason for her absence. CBS12 reached out to Martin for comment but had not received a response.