MELBOURNE, Fla. – Months after a picture of a firefighter wearing a mustache and performing a Nazi salute surfaced in April, prompting an investigation, he has returned to work after the city determined the photo had no antisemitic intent.
The city of Melbourne said the photograph of Melbourne battalion chief Jody Kahler under scrutiny was taken 16 years ago.
The Jewish firefighter, Aaron Starkey, who initially filed the complaint against Kahler said it didn’t matter when the picture was taken because the battalion chief is still working for the city.
The city said Kahler was put on leave upon receipt of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission complaint, but now that a portion of the investigation has been completed, he has returned to duty.
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Starkey’s attorney Daniel Perez shared the offensive picture of his client’s supervisor in April.
The city of Melbourne said it found the old picture was inappropriate, showing extremely poor judgement and a lack of sensitivity, but those who were involved back in 2007, “were not intentionally acting with any kind of racist or antisemitic intent or bias.”
A new statement from the city goes on to read that Kahler has never been involved in discriminatory or harassing conduct. Additionally, the city said his picture was not found to be widely shared within the fire department, as Starkey’s attorney argued.
“It had been circulating among the upper echelons of the department as a joke or as a poor gesture in my estimation,” Perez said in April.
Perez issued a new statement after it was determined that Kahler could return to work.
“It used to be that public employers swiftly condemned Nazism, anti-semitism, and discrimination in any of its forms. How times have changed. Given the opportunity to put its house in order, MFD has decided to not hold anyone accountable for this behavior: Not the subject in the photo, the person(s) who took the photo, or the person(s) that disseminated it. The date that the photo was taken is irrelevant because the person in the photo is employed as a Battalion Chief. That person has not take accountability for his actions and the MFD has not taken corrective action. In fact, this Battalion Chief dissuaded Aaron Starkey from reporting the photo to the Union presumably to keep his actions covered up. In short, it appears that it is MFD’s policy to placate bad actors rather than censure them. This is a sad day for the MFD, city leadership, and the residents of City of Melbourne. We look forward to the U.S. EEOC’s investigation of this matter including the City’s response today.”
Attorney Daniel Perez
The city did not provide News 6 a timeline on when the full investigation might be complete.
The city’s full statement on the investigation can be read below.
A portion of the independent external investigation into religious discrimination and retaliation claims has been completed. This is part of the greater EEOC investigation, which is still ongoing. Below is some additional information that we can provide at this stage:
“The City of Melbourne launched an internal review immediately after receiving notice of an EEOC charge in April 2023, asserting claims of religious discrimination and retaliation involving the Melbourne Fire Department. Part of that review examined the circumstances surrounding a photograph of a Melbourne Fire Department employee caricaturizing Adolf Hitler and making a Nazi salute.
Preliminary results from the review undertaken at the City’s request have found that the inappropriate photograph was apparently taken approximately 15 or 16 years ago (it appears in the Summer of 2007), and that those involved were not intentionally acting with any kind of racist or Anti-Semitic intent or bias, but that the photograph was instead intended to be a parody or caricature of a German soldier from World War II, which nevertheless showed extremely poor judgment and insensitivity in how it could be viewed or perceived, particularly given that the individual appearing in the photograph was in a work shirt and setting.
From the review that was conducted, no evidence was found to conclude the photograph was something widely known or shared within the Melbourne Fire Department (at the time or thereafter), or that the individual in the photograph has ever been involved in discriminatory or harassing conduct (based on religion, race or otherwise), or that he has ever engaged in inappropriate or unlawful retaliatory conduct.
The City of Melbourne takes any claims of this nature very seriously and recognizes that people may have been offended by the views and history that could be associated with this image, regardless of its intent or how long ago it was taken. We have implemented and strengthened a variety of training and policies since the photograph was taken and will continue to evaluate and look for ways to further improve and strengthen polices, practices and training for all employees.
While the City waits for the results of the EEOC investigation, which is still pending, the City will refrain from making further comments about this matter.”
City of Melbourne
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