The Los Angeles City Fire Department said late Monday it had opened a personnel investigation into a fire captain who posted a 12-minute video online in which he said he was “hopping mad” that the City had ordered employees to receive the COVID-19 vaccination or be subjected to repeated testing.
Capt. Cristian Granucci was wearing an LAFD t-shirt and hat during the recording, in which he complained that the union that represents firefighters has not objected to the mandate and the union was in, “lockstep with total tyranny.”
The LAFD confirmed Granucci was an employee and had made the video, and said late Monday that it had opened an investigation into Granucci’s conduct.
It said while employees are entitled to their opinions, Granucci, who lives in Austin, Texas according to City payroll records, was not authorized to speak on behalf of the department.
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“The individual is in uniform and appears to be on duty, thereby giving the impression that he is speaking in an official capacity,” fire department spokesperson Chery Getuiza said in an email.
The LA City Council voted last week to require all employees be vaccinated by early October and the LA County Board of Supervisors voted to require all emergency medical workers, which the County said includes all firefighters, to be vaccinated.
The City’s rule is awaiting a signature from Mayor Eric Garcetti, who’s spokesman said Monday the purpose of the mandate was to protect the public and other City employees.
“The Mayor hopes that full FDA approval of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine will help reassure people that these vaccines are safe and effective — and he strongly urges any Angeleno who hasn’t been vaccinated to get the shot right now,” Garcetti spokesman Alex Comisar emailed.
The video was originally posted to the Telegram application and was later reposted to YouTube, where it had been viewed thousands of times and received hundreds of laudatory comments.
