Firefighters take heat in ticket sales

Two Orange County Fire Rescue firefighters and a battalion chief have been suspended without pay for their conduct regarding the resale of Walt Disney World tickets given to first responders after the Pulse shooting.

Firefighters Christopher Huntley and Glenn Kiture in March sold five of their complimentary Disney World passes to a woman through the OfferUp mobile app for about $390, according to Fire Rescue records.

Disney had given four tickets to each Fire Rescue first responder after the June 12, 2016, mass shooting at Pulse nightclub, where 49 were killed and more than 68 others were injured. The tickets were not for resale.

Huntley told the woman who bought the tickets to falsely tell Disney she was his cousin and that he gave — not sold — her the tickets, records show.

When the woman tried to use the tickets, she was refused entry into the

park. She tried to get her money back from Huntley, who she said was “reluctant” and stopped communicating with her, according to Fire Rescue documents.

She then filed a complaint with the department and a report with the Orange County Sheriff’s Office, according to Fire Rescue disciplinary records. Huntley later reimbursed her.

On March 31, Kiture asked Battalion Chief Darion Butler hypothetical questions “to illicit a response on both if [he] gave the tickets away or sold them, what could possibly happen,” according to Kiture’s disciplinary letter.

But Assistant Chief Lauraleigh Avery wrote in Butler’s disciplinary letter that Butler didn’t tell his boss.

“By failing to recognize the issue while on duty you also failed to move the issue up to your chain of command,” Avery wrote.

Butler also used Huntley’s phone in his presence to call the woman who bought the tickets, claiming to be a Walt Disney World employee, according to records.

“Hi, this is Brett Harris with Walt Disney World Resorts and theme parks and I would like to find out your experience you had with Disney and if there was any problems with your tickets,” Butler told the woman. “If you would please try to contact Walt Disney World again and we will try to accommodate you again. Thank you. Have a great day.”

Butler later told Fire Rescue officials that it was a joke, which Avery said was “not an acceptable explanation.”

“This behavior is certainly below the expectations of a senior fire officer that has over 17 years of service in our department,” Avery wrote.

A formal investigation started April 3, during which Huntley was untruthful with officials and Butler “used frequent profanity,” according to the documents.

When officers asked Huntley if he told the woman to lie to Disney employees, Huntley denied it, and the department confronted him with proof from a printout of his messages with the woman, records showed.

Department officials decided June 26 that Huntley violated Fire Rescue’s truthfulness and unbecomingconduct rules. He was suspended without pay for 72 hours — a total of six days of work, based on his schedule.

On July 2, Morrow found that Kiture violated the unbecoming-conduct rule through his actions. He was suspended without pay for 24 hours and ordered to take an ethical decision-making class through the county.

Butler on July 13 was found to have violated the Fire Rescue Department’s rules on performance of duty, truthfulness and unbecoming conduct. He was suspended without pay for 72 hours and ordered to take classes on workplace professionalism and emotional intelligence.

“Your actions in this situation are not acceptable and do not come close to meeting the minimum expectations of a battalion chief of Orange County Fire Rescue,” Avery wrote. “As a battalion chief for Orange County Fire Rescue, you are held to a higher standard.”

Fire Rescue spokeswoman Kat Kennedy said the department regrets the firefighters’ actions and is “humbled and grateful” for the community’s support.

“We apologize to our community partner, Walt Disney World, that the imprudent actions of a few employees tarnished the kind gesture to thank our more than 1,200 firefighters and support personnel for their service,” Kennedy said.

Huntley, Kiture and Butler could not be reached for comment.