A Franklin Township volunteer firefighter has been suspended indefinitely after appearing to make racist remarks on Facebook.According to Facebook user Erica Latimore, the volunteer firefighter, Tyler Roysdon, made a remark about who he would save first in the event of a house fire. Latimore, paraphrasing Roysdon, says he suggested, “if he went inside the burning house of a black man and he had a dog, that he would save the dog first and probably take his time coming back to get the black man.”
She posted another response, which had Roysdon’s name by it. It read: “That’s because one dog is more important than a million…” A woman by the name of Joei Frame Roysdon has identified herself as his wife and said: “He admitted that he said things that were wrong and apologized.”She went on to say, in part: “Everyone deserves a second chance and is also entitled to their own opinion.”Franklin Township officials say they’ll meet with Tyler Roysdon Sept. 27 to discuss the remarks.
Below is a statement from the township:
This is not acceptable behavior for a township employee. As a rule all employees are given a closed door disciplinary hearing that gives them a chance to provide witnesses or evidence providing their innocence. We can provide more information after the hearing on September 27th.