Clay County fire officer accused of sending shirtless photo to coworker, making sexual comments

At least four Clay County Fire Department employees are under internal investigation right now.

Records from Clay County Human Resources reveal one battalion chief is accused of texting a female coworker a shirtless photo of himself, as well as making sexual comments about one or more female employees while on duty.

Clay County Fire Chief Lorin Mock confirmed to Action News Jax that he has recommended that battalion chief for termination.

Mock would not specify what sparked the three other internal investigations, only saying that none of the investigations are related.

“Well, I’d like to know what they’re under investigation for. But yeah, I still trust them,” said Clay County resident of 32 years Debra Liadal.

Action News Jax is choosing not to name the firefighters because the investigations are still open.

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Mock said one chief is being investigated for “a number of matters” and one dispatcher has been placed in an administrative position for now.

“That’s sad. They’re just like everybody else. Every once in a while, one of them will run into trouble,” said Clay County resident of 43 years Wayne Mattox.

These Clay County firefighters are not the first to get into hot water.

In 2016, Lt. Anthony Myrick resigned after the fire department began investigating a nude selfie taken in a fire station bathroom.

Earlier that year, firefighter James Padgett resigned after he was charged with selling heroin.

In 2015, Battalion Chief Raleigh Zike was investigated for using his lights and sirens to stop a school bus and accused a student of flashing his wife.

Weeks later, firefighters Joseph Lancaster and Aubrey Raisor resigned after reportedly having sex in a firehouse while on duty.

Cox Media Group