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CLEVELAND (WJW) — The FOX 8 I-Team has uncovered more about an internal investigation into a social media post by the Cleveland fire chief that resulted in him being placed on paid leave.
We’ve found the city is hiring an outside law firm to investigate. We also asked why Cleveland Fire Chief Anthony Luke is on leave with pay.
Over the weekend, Northeast Ohio and the nation said goodbye to conservative activist Charlie Kirk.
Last week, the mayor took Luke off the job following a social media post about the murder of Charlie Kirk. A repost by Luke included an image of an assault rifle and the words “bring out the next sacrifice.”
That sparked outrage.
Now, the city law director has confirmed an outside firm will conduct the city’s internal investigation.
“Yes, we are hiring an outside firm,” Law Director Mark Griffin said, adding, “We’re hiring an outside firm to make sure everything is neutral and fair and independent.”
Some of you have asked why the chief is on leave with pay. So, we asked the city. We’re told this involved the civil service process, and that’s why the leave includes pay.
The I-Team has reported the city of Cleveland is also investigating social media posts related to Charlie Kirk made by other firefighters and EMS workers.
We also wondered how often Cleveland firefighters get in trouble for anything posted online. We requested records of firefighters punished over the social media policy since 2023. The law department told us it had no records.
However, City Hall said, “The Department of Public Safety is currently working with the Division of Fire to confirm the records in question.”
We’ve shown you some of the reaction to the fire chief’s post.
We tried getting a comment from him before the city placed him on leave. Now, he’ll have to explain it in an inquiry led by an outside law firm.
It’s not yet clear how long the investigation will take, or how long the chief will remain on leave.
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Ed Gallek
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