WASHINGTON — A D.C. firefighter has filed a formal complaint and accused his chief of forcefully taking his cellphone at the scene of an ambulance fire last week.
The Washington Post reported that no arrests have been made, but a firefighter’s union official said the firefighter told him that Fire Chief Kenneth Ellerbe grabbed his phone.
Chief Ellerbe acknowledged in an interview Tuesday that he approached the firefighter and inquired about his phone and photos taken at the scene of the Aug. 13 fire, according to the report.
He denied a physical confrontation and said he asked the firefighter for his phone — which he said the firefighter voluntarily handed over, according to the report. Chief Ellerbe said he looked at the phone and then gave it back.
The complaint filed with police says: “the suspect grabbed and removed a cellular telephone which was in his right hand. The grabbing and taking of the cell phone caused injury to the complainant’s right hand. The complainant sought medical treatment for his injury.”
The filing immerses police in yet another investigation involving the fire department. Police are still trying to determine if the two ambulance fires on Aug. 13 were intentionally set, amid a labor dispute with the firefighters union that involves complaints of poorly maintained vehicles, according to the report.