Charges against two D.C. firefighters stemming from a brawl captured on video have been dropped, according to the attorney representing one of them.
Lt. Sean Sinon and Firefighter Reden Ecleo were charged with assault in June after prosecutors viewed a video of an April brawl. According to a police report on the incident, a fight broke out as the first responders were assessing patients after a car crash near Florida Avenue and N. Capitol Street. A man allegedly punched the fire lieutenant in charge, and the fight grew from there. Police arrested the man accused of throwing the first punch, but charges against him were dropped.
When video of the incident surfaced in April, six firefighters were placed on leave.
In a previous statement, DC Fire and EMS said the firefighters' actions were "completely unacceptable and do not reflect the behavior we require of our members.”
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But the firefighters' union said the firefighters were defending themselves after a man they were trying to help threw a punch.
“I think they were trying to help their lieutenant who had been assaulted," union president David Hoagland said at the time. "You know, our members are routinely placed in some of these unsafe situations from day to day and, unfortunately, on the scenes of these emergencies they can escalate quickly before the police have a chance to arrive to assist us."
On Sunday, the firefighters union issued this statement on the U.S. Attorney's Office's decision to drop the charges:
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“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 duty. The health and safety of our members will always remain our top priority."
