A Michigan firefighter received his walking papers from the chief of the Belding Fire Department after it was discovered that he allegedly posted a racist attack directed towards an African-American woman on Facebook. Firefighter Ryan Hudson was fired after Belding Chief Greg Moore noticed a Facebook comment allegedly posted by Hudson over the weekend that contained racist remarks, including the n-word.
According to local news report, woman on the receiving end of the posts said it started after she made a remark about the controversy surrounding San Francisco 49ers QB Colin Kaepernick taking a knee during the National Anthem.
“Basically I wrote ‘Black Lives Matter,’ and that’s when he spelled out in no uncertain terms, because he’s now claiming he was drunk. First he was hacked, now he’s drunk,” the woman told the news station.
She added, “Yes we do have free speech in this country, but free speech does not mean you’re safe from the consequences of your free speech and your decisions. We don’t just get to spout off at the mouth and spew hatred and ignorance.”
The woman also took screenshots of the posts and put them up online:
Once Chief Moore got wind of the incident he acted quickly and told Hudson he was fired.
“I’ve actually never had to fire someone,” said Chief Moore. “This is a first. My employees are excellent employees, and I’ve had nothing but the utmost respect for all of them. They do what they are supposed to do and this is so out of the ordinary for a firefighter to do.”
The chief explained that the quick action was necessary because the community needs to know its firefighters will always come to the rescue, regardless of the caller’s skin color.
“We can’t take the chance. We have to treat everybody no matter what and we want that to happen,” Chief Moore said.
Hudson reportedly did not respond to the news station’s request for comment.
[image via screengrab]