4 First Responders Accused of Hazing 19-Year-Old Firefighter, Waterboarding and Whipping Him with Belt By Nicole Acosta

Four first responders were arrested this week after allegedly participating in the “violent” hazing of a 19-year-old firefighter in Florida.

Edward Kenny III, 22, an EMT, and Seth Day, 22, and 19-year-old Tate Trauthwein— both firefighter/EMTs — were arrested on charges of kidnapping, battery and robbery in connection with the incident, the Marion County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement shared to social media on Wednesday, Nov. 26.

A fourth suspect, Kaylee Bradley, a 25-year-old EMT, was charged with robbery and principal/accessory to robbery.

At a news conference on Wednesday, Marion County Sheriff Billy Woods said the hazing began with “grease being smeared on the victim” during the 19-year-old firefighter’s shift at the Marion County Fire Rescue Station 21 in Ocala on Nov. 16.

It escalated from there, when the four suspects, who wanted a TikTok video that the victim had on his phone, chased him down in a parking lot and removed his pants, according to the sheriff.

They used a belt to hit the victim on his “backside” and then took off his underwear do it on his bare skin after the victim refused to give up his phone’s password, the sheriff said.

The victim was then “dragged” through the parking lot to another location, where he was waterboarded three times with a towel, he added. The victim “fought and refused to cooperate.”

The altercation ended when a call for service came into the station, the sheriff’s office said in its statement.

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When Marion County Fire Rescue supervisors learned of the allegations, they notified the sheriff’s office, which launched an investigation.

“What occurred was unacceptable, inexcusable and fundamentally contrary to the core values of our fire department,” Marion County Fire Rescue Chief James Banta told reporters, adding that the suspects have been terminated.

The suspects’ booking photos are being withheld under a state law that bars the release of such images of law-enforcement, the sheriff’s office said.

It’s unclear if they have entered pleas or retained attorneys to speak on their behalf. According to local station WOFL, all of the suspects, except for Kenny, have since been released from custody on bond.

Banta said the victim remains an employee at the station and declined to take time off.