July 25--JACKSON -- Meridian Fire Chief Anthony Clayton confirmed Friday that two firefighters were shocked earlier this month with a taser gun.
"The tasing of two of my men was voluntary," Clayton said. "This was not a case of hazing. This was a situation where they wanted to see what it felt like to be tased. It was dangerous. It was against policy, and it was irresponsible."
According to Clayton neither firefighter was injured after being shot with the taser gun.
Clayton said the incident occurred July 6, but he did not find out about it until July 18.
"I found out that evening and I called the deputy chief. I wanted an investigation started and completed by Monday morning," Clayton said. "Monday morning we reviewed the situation and Tuesday I rendered a decision."
Clayton said the deputy chief investigated the incident.
"The investigation consisted of my deputy chief, the battalion chief, the number one captain, and the rescue captain, basically getting their statements which basically corroborated what went on," Clayton said. "I demoted the rescue captain back to basic captain, and issued a reprimand to the battalion chief. The number one fire captain was moved to a different shift."
Clayton declined to provide the number of people involved in the incident and their names.
City of Meridian CAO Mike McGrevey said that the type of behavior used by those involved would not be tolerated.
"We have taken steps to deal with this matter," McGrevey said. "As you know we are limited on what we can say about personnel matters. We have dealt with this and don't expect to have to deal with it again."
Clayton said the department has put the incident behind them and he hopes they can now move forward.
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