An associate Duval County medical examiner who was placed on administrative leave for comments on his personal social media account is back on the job but has been \u201ccounseled,\u201d according to a city spokesperson. <\/p>\n
Dr. Robert Pfalzgraf, a forensic pathologist at the Duval County Medical Examiner\u2019s Office, resumed his duties this week. That follows an internal investigation by the city for a statement posted on Pfalzgraf\u2019s personal X account that read: \u201cI\u2019m looking forward to the big, beautiful obituary.\u201d<\/p>\n
In a memo from Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Robert Pietak dated April 13 and signed by Pfalzgraf, city officials determined the statement \u201ccan reasonably be interpreted as expressing enthusiasm for the death of President Donald Trump.\u201d <\/p>\n
The memo, obtained by Jacksonville Today through a public records request, also called the conduct \u201cunacceptable\u201d and required formal action. <\/p>\n
\u201cThis type of commentary is inappropriate and inconsistent with the standards expected of someone in your position at the Medical Examiner\u2019s Office,\u201d the memo states. <\/p>\n
\u201cAlthough this post was made while off duty, your role within the City of Jacksonville, particularly as a physician and senior member of the Medical Examiner\u2019s Office, places you in a position of pubic trust and high visibility. Your actions, both on and off duty, directly reflect on the integrity, professionalism, and neutrality of this office,\u201d it says.<\/p>\n
The associate medical examiner was placed on leave<\/a> early this month after the X account \u201cLibs of TikTok\u201d posted a screenshot of the tweet<\/a> dated April 6. The original post, made at 12:04 a.m., had 41 views while the Libs of TikTok retweet had more than 1.1 million views by April 7.<\/p>\n As of Friday, Pfalzgraf\u2019s account appears to have been deleted<\/a>.<\/p>\n Pfalzgraf is an appointed, at-will city employee. The memo called the counseling a \u201cfinal warning.\u201d Future violations of the city\u2019s social media policy would result in more disciplinary action \u201cup to and including termination,\u201d the memo said.<\/p>\n Was social media policy violated?<\/p>\n The memo says Pfalzgraf acknowledged receiving the city\u2019s Directive 0529 \u2014 its social media policy \u2014 in June 2019.<\/p>\n The policy states there is \u201cno restriction on the personal use of social media outside of the office\u201d but \u201cgood judgment is encouraged.\u201d<\/p>\n The policy provides scenarios where an employee could see disciplinary consequences for a post.<\/p>\n \u201cThis policy is not intended to intrude on employees\u2019 privacy or interfere with their legal obscene;<\/p>\n false or defamatory (a communication made with the intent to harm a person\u2019s reputation or made with reckless disregard for whether the statement is true or false);<\/p>\n likely to create a hostile work environment based on a person\u2019s race, color, national origin, sex, age, disability, religion or any other status protected by law or City policy;<\/p>\n coercive or threatens physical violence; or<\/p>\n likely to create a real threat of immediate disruption in the workplace.<\/p>\n Pfalzgraf\u2019s post is the second highly publicized run-in a city employee has had with the social media policy this year. <\/p>\n In January, the city\u2019s first Hispanic outreach coordinator, Yanira \u201cYaya\u201d Cardona, was put on administrative leave after city officials were made aware of a video she posted to social media in which she talks about recent ICE activity<\/a> and provides advice on how to navigate interactions with immigration enforcement.<\/p>\n That post brought a subpoena from the state attorney\u2019s<\/a> office for documents and information. Mayor Donna Deegan defended Cardona and said she did nothing illegal. <\/p>\n
rights,\u201d the policy says. \u201cHowever, employees may be subject to disciplinary action for social media
activity referring to any City office or function, other City employees, or citizens that is:<\/p>\n