MARION COUNTY, Fla. – Following the arrest of four Marion County Fire Rescue personnel last month, new video evidence has emerged, shedding light on a disturbing hazing incident within the department.
Among the released footage is a significant cell phone video capturing a 19-year-old rookie firefighter being forcefully held down by his peers. This clip is central to understanding the severity of the situation.
During the incident, one of the firefighters is heard remarking, “It was great. It was so nice,” while the young victim cries out, “I don’t want my merch anymore!”
[Access the video footage of the alleged hazing below]
Investigators reveal that two additional firefighters are suspected of attempting to access the rookie’s phone, aiming to locate and view an embarrassing TikTok video featuring him.
According to officials, the two other firefighters have been accused of trying to get into the victim’s phone to watch a potentially embarrassing TikTok video of him.
Investigators also released interview footage showing one of the arrested employees, 25-year-old Kaylee Bradley.
Deputies said she’s a paramedic who participated in taking the victim’s cell phone and demanding his password. As such, she’s being charged with robbery.
“(The victim) was making a joke, like, how he had this TikTok go viral, and it was sort of like a 2016 thirst-trap,” Bradley told investigators while describing the night of the incident. “We tried for a long time, like, ‘Show us the TikTok.’ He ended up saying no, he deleted his TikTok, it’s not there anymore, he doesn’t have it.”
According to Bradley, the victim had given her his phone to show off a group message about another firefighter having sex with a girl at the station, though another firefighter — Seth Day, 22 — ultimately took it from her.
Day, alongside firefighter Tate Trauthwein, 19, and EMT Edward Kenny, 22, each face charges of kidnapping, battery and robbery.
“Seth took the phone, and then (the victim) started running after him, I believe, and they were running around the station,” Bradley continued. “Then, that’s when Kenny and Tate got involved.”
Bradley went on to say that Trauthwein and Kenny restrained the victim before Trauthwein took off the victim’s belt, pulled his pants down slightly and began spanking him.
During this time, she said, the trio was pressuring the victim to reveal his phone password while threatening to delete information from his phone. Eventually, one of the accused grabbed a bottle of water and a towel and waterboarded the victim three times as the others held him down, deputies added.
However, Bradley also said that the victim regularly participated in similar hazing activities before, including another waterboarding session against Trauthwein about a week before.
“(The victim) has participated in roughhousing with Kenny and Tate and Seth before, so I didn’t really think that anything was going on,” she explained.
Deputies also released interview footage with the victim himself, who claimed that Bradley had been handed the phone during the incident and was responsible for locking him out of it for a short while.
[Watch the full interview with the victim in the video below]
During the interview, the victim tells investigators that the harassment began with grease being smeared on him.
Many of the details align with Bradley’s account, but the victim also said that he had been forcibly dragged through the parking lot from one location to another. Sheriff Billy Woods explained that this is why three of the suspects now face kidnapping charges.
Regardless, all four of the suspects were arrested on Nov. 26 and immediately fired from Marion County Fire Rescue.
While the criminal cases proceed, fallout inside the fire department has grown. In December, Marion County Fire Rescue announced that six additional employees — including leadership personnel who were on duty at the time of the incident — had been fired following an internal review.
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