When Marion County Commission Chairman Carl Zalak and Marion County Fire Rescue Chief James Banta released a late-Friday evening video announcing the termination of six firefighters connected—directly or indirectly—to the violent hazing incident against a new hire at Station 21, they framed it as transparency. A “full and honest update,” Zalak told the public.
But words matter. And in this case, Marion County government’s public-relations strategy raises more questions than it answers.
Let’s be clear at the outset: Nothing in this editorial diminishes the seriousness of the criminal allegations already charged and now moving through the courts against a few very early-career firefighters who allegedly waterboarded and whipped their colleague. Those allegations are grave, and the judicial process—not social media videos—is where guilt or innocence will be determined…