BROOKHAVEN, N.Y. (WCBS 880) — The Brookhaven Fire Department on Monday issued an apology after a photograph of a ladder truck decorated with a Confederate flag went viral on social media over the weekend.
Chief of Department Peter Di Pinto Jr. apologized and condemned the action in a letter posted to Facebook.
“This afternoon the chiefs and commissioners of the Brookhaven Fire Department and the Brookhaven Fire District were made aware of an incident involving one of our vehicles,” he wrote. “The unauthorized action was done without the knowledge of the leadership team and is condemned in the strongest terms.”
The apology came after Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone had called for an investigation into the fire department for the display of the flag during a parade for a Patchogue firefighter who is currently battling cancer.
Bellone called for the Suffolk County Human Rights Commission and New York State Division of Human Rights to investigate the incident on Monday.
In a press release, he wrote that the county “must demonstrate that we take these matters seriously.”
Di Pinto Jr. has vowed the flag will never be seen on one of their fire trucks again and said a sole firefighter was responsible for the offensive imagery. He said a discipline process has begun, but did not provide details to the public.
“We can assure our community that ‘Racism has no place in our Firehouse,’” he wrote in his post.
Late Monday night, Gov. Andrew Cuomo answered Bellone’s call and said the NYS Division of Human Rights will investigate.
“We will not tolerate symbols of racism and division. To see a Confederate flag displayed in our own backyard is appalling,” the governor wrote on Twitter.