WASHINGTON — Charges have been dropped against two Washington D.C. fire department employees who were involved in a street brawl in Northwest back in April, an attorney confirmed to WUSA9.
The attorney for the firefighters said the government filed the paperwork Sunday.
Several employees of D.C. Fire and EMS were put on administrative leave after a video showed responding crews engaged in a brawl with a man in Northwest D.C. The incident happened on April 25, near the intersection of Florida Avenue Northwest and North Capitol Street Northwest.
The two firefighters who were charged with simple assault are assigned to the Shaw Firehouse, according to the firefighters union.
“Today IAFF Local 36 is pleased to share that the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia dropped all charges against our members who were assaulted in the course of their duties. The health and safety of our members will always remain our top priority,” Union President Dave Hoagland told WUSA9 in a statement.
Police originally charged the man at the center of the brawl with assault on a firefighter. Witnesses say he had climbed under a Metrobus, grabbed the wheel and refused to let go – prompting the call for first responders. Charges against that man have since been dropped.
WUSA9 broke this story back in April as one of our photographers was at the scene when the brawl happened and caught some of the incident on video.
Our photographer said the man was belligerent and combative with several firefighters and then punched one of the firefighters in the face. That's when the brawl broke out.
The video that was shot by the WUSA9 photographer appears to show responding fire department staff and Metropolitan Police Department officers attempting to bring the man into custody.
At the time, D.C. Fire and EMS spokesperson Vito Maggiolo told WUSA9 in a statement that they were aware of the video. Maggiolo said six members of the fire department had been placed on administrative leave pending the results of a joint investigation between D.C. Fire and EMS and the Metropolitan Police Department.
"The actions depicted in a video of the incident are completely unacceptable and do not reflect the behavior we require of our members," Maggiolo said in a statement back in April.