ST. LUCIE COUNTY, Fla. (CBS12) — The St. Lucie County Fire Board is seeking outside legal help to review complaints against district leaders as Fire Chief Jeff Lee withdraws an offer to reinstate three fired firefighters.
At Wednesday’s workshop, firefighters and their supporters demanded answers about who investigates the people running the district—and whether those leaders should have been allowed to dismiss complaints involving their own conduct.
CBS12 News asked Commissioner Jamie Fowler, who serves on the Fire Board, who would investigate a complaint against the chief under the existing process.
“As it has always stood, he would,” Fowler said.
She wants that to change.
“They can’t investigate themselves. That’s not proper,” Fowler said. “That’s not accountable to the people or the district.”
Firefighters question handling of complaints
The dispute involves three firefighters—Jordon Hutchinson, Christopher Baldwin and Douglas Boudrias—who were fired following an outside investigation into incidents involving a modified bug zapper.
Investigators found senior firefighters used the device to shock newer firefighters during incidents in 2024. The district characterized the conduct as hazing and violations of department policy.
The firefighters and their union disagree, describing the incidents as consensual horseplay and challenging the fairness of the investigation and discipline.
But their fight extends beyond the bug-zapper videos.
Before their terminations, firefighters had filed complaints against district leadership. At Wednesday’s workshop, Hutchinson accused Lee of dismissing complaints involving his own conduct without asking the board how to proceed.
“When the complaints involved his own conduct, he dismissed them himself without asking the board how to proceed,” Hutchinson said.
Previous CBS12 reporting found that state ethics complaints involving Lee, Assistant Chief Brian Gonzalez and district attorney Kim Sabol were dismissed. The firefighters and union have also pointed to a separate independent investigation that raised concerns about conflicts of interest in the district’s internal complaint process.
Those disputes are now part of a broader push for independent oversight.
Offer to return to work withdrawn
A letter obtained by CBS12 News shows Lee has withdrawn the district’s settlement offer involving the three firefighters.
Fowler said the proposed agreement would have returned them to work, with pay and employment benefits restored retroactively. But negotiations stalled over a release the firefighters would have had to sign.
According to Fowler, that release went beyond resolving the dispute over their firings and required them to give up other claims.
“In my opinion, I do feel like it was overreaching,” Fowler said.
Baldwin told the board the firefighters would have signed an agreement limited to resolving their termination dispute.
“Instead, it required us to surrender matters that were never the stated reason for our termination,” he said.
Baldwin also said Lee told them insurance required the broader release and that his hands were tied.
Fowler said she has not been provided documentation establishing that requirement.
An Oct. 5 letter from Max Miller, senior vice president of Marsh Agency, recommends maintaining the terminations. It warns that retaining the firefighters could expose the district to higher insurance premiums, coverage restrictions and future liability.
The letter cites district disciplinary rules and potential insurance risks. It does not identify a specific insurance policy provision requiring the firefighters’ dismissal or the disputed release.
An Oct. 5 letter from Max Miller, senior vice president of Marsh Agency, recommends maintaining the terminations. It warns that retaining the firefighters could expose the district to higher insurance premiums, coverage restrictions and future liability.
Fowler questioned the distinction between a broker’s recommendation and a requirement from the district’s insurer.
In his withdrawal letter, Lee said the union had previously rejected the settlement offer. He said the offer had remained available, but not indefinitely.
“After further discussion with our counsel and insurance representatives, the District is withdrawing that offer,” Lee wrote.
The letter says the cases will continue through the grievance and arbitration process provided in the union contract.
Fowler said Lee withdrew the offer Tuesday. She questioned why the risk assessment came after an offer to return the firefighters to work.
“Obviously the liability and risk existed on the front end,” she said. “Why didn’t we get this before we even made an offer then?”
Fowler calls for a broader review
No outside firm was selected during Wednesday’s workshop discussion. Fowler updated the board on her outreach, with attorney availability complicating the search.
She wants an outside review of approximately five years of firings and early resignations to determine whether allegations of retaliation and inconsistent discipline are supported by the records.
“You’re talking hundreds, thousands of pages of documentation, new claims and allegations being brought forward daily,” Fowler said.
Her preferred approach would send complaints against the board’s four contracted employees—the chief, district attorney, clerk-treasurer and medical director—to an independent investigator who would report findings to the board.
Fowler said complaints are being held for the outside firm to address while the board works to establish that process.
Retired Chief Buddy Emerson questioned why the district needs to develop a new approach. He said the board established a precedent for handling leadership complaints during his tenure and urged members to examine those records.
A separate workplace review dated July 29, 2025, also highlights longstanding concerns at Station 1A. That review found no policy violations or substantiated harassment claims, but described peer pressure, social exclusion and inappropriate banter.
That review was separate from the later bug-zapper investigation that led to the firings.
Fowler said she wants the three firefighters reinstated, while making clear she does not consider their behavior appropriate. She questioned whether broader workplace culture had contributed to conduct for which those employees were punished.
Attorney’s departure and no-confidence vote
Sabol gave the district 90 days’ notice last week. She previously told CBS12 News she is retiring and that her last workday will be Dec. 31.
The district said it would not speculate about her departure or any connection to the ongoing dispute.
Meanwhile, union members are voting on whether they have confidence in Lee’s leadership. Fowler said she expects the ballots to be counted Thursday, though the timing of a public announcement was uncertain.
She expects the results and additional information about outside legal counsel by the board’s Oct. 21 meeting.
For speakers at Wednesday’s workshop, the tension has already lasted too long.
“We can’t have this hate going on between Jeff Lee and Ryan Sapp with the union,” retired fire captain Michael Jenkins said. “Something’s got to give or somebody’s got to go.”
Fowler said the ongoing dispute is casting a shadow over employees who serve the community.
“These men and women deserve that respect,” she said. “It’s really just bringing a black cloud over this district, and it’s not something that I’m going to stand for.”