A Los Angeles firefighter is under investigation after authorities say he used a sexual note of a sex act and a vaccine mandate letter to scratch the urine off his rear end.
The NBC morning news program Today released the video, shot by an inspector and posted online. It showed a firefighter using a “glass of water” on his rear end to clean the urine off while other firefighters looked on. The video was recorded by an inspector at the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Local No 1 in Los Angeles, a union that represents city employees, from inside an elevator last June.
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What ensued was a “giant stick fight” with firefighters from other departments who, according to Today, chipped in with their own urine for the irrigation, the inspector said. The firefighter who had the pee rubbed onto his rear end on 13 June approached the inspector and claimed to be using a condom to clean himself after inhaling fumes, the inspector said.
“I asked, ‘Don’t you have anything better to do with your time?’” said the inspector, who signed off on the report that identified the firefighter as Ed Magliocchetti, while also placing the investigation file in his drawer. The inquiry report is now sitting in a drawer in the inspector’s office at work.
The Los Angeles fire department in a statement said the department is “committed to maintaining a safe workplace and will take appropriate disciplinary action for any employee who violates any department policy.”
Firefighters association president Chris Salcido told the Los Angeles Times the union is confident in Magliocchetti’s “actual innocence”.
The substance in question was a booster vaccination for tetanus, diphtheria and acellular pertussis, or whooping cough. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, whooping cough can be a serious disease and not to be taken lightly.
I’d never have any concerns. I feel fine. I have no problem with government workers. It’s a tough job to do Ed Magliocchetti
Magliocchetti, who is white, is accused of referring to himself as “the nigger” in a retaliation complaint to the union two weeks after he was sidelined for allegedly vandalizing a homeless encampment in front of a homeless shelter, according to the Los Angeles Times.
He told Today in an interview that the NBC video was edited, and said that he thought of licking the urine as a way to distract from the allegation against him, which he said he didn’t do.
“I’d never have any concerns. I feel fine. I have no problem with government workers. It’s a tough job to do,” he said.
He said that if there had been “no oversight from supervisors,” it was likely that someone would have called 911. “If it was up to me, that’s exactly what I would do.”
In a statement on Wednesday, Salcido said that the union “cannot comment on an ongoing investigation”, but added: “We believe that the LAFD investigation will prove the charges false and Ed’s innocence, and that our firefighters will get back to the work of protecting our community.”