In a video posted to social media, the firefighter could be seen standing outside a car, accusing its driver of causing an accident on a highway last Friday near Lodi. When the driver suggested that police should resolve the dispute, the firefighter called the driver a pejorative term and a “Mexican". Later in the interaction, the firefighter referred to the driver, also pejoratively ,as a "Filipino."
At a press conference earlier Monday, McDonald said the Alameda County Fire Department is not classifying the comments as racist until it completes an investigation into the circumstances around the interaction. Nonetheless, McDonald offered a public apology to the driver on behalf of the firefighter and the department.
The fire chief said: "Such behavior is not representative of who we are, whether the department or our values we strive to embody every day.”
While McDonald denied that the circumstances excuse the firefighter's comments, he said the department would not take further disciplinary action until it investigates.
In the video, the firefighter doubled down on his comments, repeatedly calling the driver a Mexican or a Filipino, using the terms as epithets. When the driver accused him of racism, the firefighter denied he was racist, but profanely stated he was a firefighter.
"I don't think that there's any shield against racism because you're a firefighter," McDonald added today.
In the video, the driver also alleges that the firefighter spat on them.
McDonald said he watched the video, spoke to the firefighter, and "admonished" him for his actions. The firefighter, who has worked for the department since 2004, expressed remorse for his comments, McDonald said.
