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“The Facebook page that pretty much said it all. So, that was probably the most important piece we had and he also admitted he posted it,” Chief Tim Holman of the German Twp. Fire and EMS Department, said.
The former lieutenant walked out of the meeting shortly after the vote. He and his lawyer provided no comment.
He was fired on March 9 after only a few weeks with the Springfield Fire/Rescue Division, according to city records obtained by the Springfield News-Sun through a public records request.
. RELATED : READ IT NOW: Ex-Springfield firefighter shared post with racial slur
He had worked for the city of Springfield in street maintenance since 2007. He worked as a lieutenant at the German Twp. Fire and EMS Department, according to his application he filed for the firefighter job last summer in Springfield.
The Facebook post was the reason for his termination, according to a letter dated March 12 in his city personnel file.
A screen shot of the post obtained through a public records request from the Springfield fire division appears to show Baugh shared a meme on March 3 that uses a racial slur, saying they “dropout of school & get a job at McDonald’s talking bout ‘On My Grind’ Yeah, okay, GRIND me up a Oreo Mcflurry with yo (expletive).”
The termination letter sent to Baugh from Springfield City Manager Jim Bodenmiller says the post was insensitive.
“The racially insensitive post that you shared in a public forum undermines the integrity and values of the city of Springfield and the fire/rescue division, and directly impact our ability to effectively serve the community,” he said.
German Twp. is now investigating another racial incident.
On Monday, firefighter Kyle Artis got into an altercation with tree trimmers in his Springfield neighborhood, according to court documents. It also says police were called after a “white male began yelling racial slurs and pulled out a gun.”
Artis was arrested and charged Tuesday in Clark County Municipal Court with three counts of ethnic intimidation. On Monday, Judge Denise Moody instructed Artis to return to court today.
Holman said this behavior is not acceptable. He contacted Denise Williams, president of the NAACP, about diversity training for first responders.
“What I appreciate about the township is they have a zero tolerance for this type of intimidation. This type of discriminatory acts. They have zero tolerance and this young man violated that,” Williams said.
She will develop diversity training for the division to deter this behavior. The chief said the training will become mandatory.
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