Kissimmee's deputy fire chief of operations is under investigation for sexual harassment. He's accused of groping a fellow firefighter. The incident may have occurred at an after hours celebration for a colleague.
Eyewitness News tried to talk with Deputy Fire Chief Randy Walters, but he said he did not want to comment until after the investigation. Eyewitness News does know that there may have been several witnesses and that they've been questioned about the alleged sexual harassment.
Walters is under investigation by the city. He's also married to the deputy police chief of Kissimmee.
Walters was accused of putting his hands on the backside of a female firefighter and groping her. It allegedly happened July 10 after work inside the Firehouse Pub on West Vine Street in Kissimmee.
Eyewitness News has confirmed Walters and several other firefighters were celebrating at the pub because a colleague had just successfully completed treatment for cancer. The owner of the pub, a firefighter himself, said he'd been questioned about the incident, but could not talk on camera.
Eyewitness News has learned several firefighters who may have witnessed what happened were also interviewed by the city attorney last week.
Eyewitness News found no evidence of any prior sexual harassment complaints in Walters' personnel file and, for now, he remained on the job.
The city attorney could not say when the investigation will be completed. However, the attorney said, a final report of the findings would be passed along to the fire chief.
Late Monday afternoon, Eyewitness News spoke with Kissimmee's fire chief, who is at an out of town conference. Chief Robert King said the allegation was being taken very seriously and the investigation into the deputy fire chief should be completed later this week.
Copyright 2006 by wftv.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
