Miami Firefighters Defamation Case Goes To State Supreme Court

CBS Miami

November 16, 2022

Three Miami firefighters have gone to the Florida Supreme Court after an appeals court shielded the city of Miami and Fire Chief Joseph Zahralban from defamation allegations in a lawsuit stemming from a 2017 incident in which a Black firefighter's family photos were defaced and a string shaped like a noose was placed over one of the photos.

Firefighters David Rivera, Kevin Meizoso, and Justin Rumbaugh on Monday filed a notice that is a first step in asking the Supreme Court to take up the case. As is common, the notice did not include detailed arguments.

Lt. Robert Webster discovered the racist symbol on his shift in Fire Station 12, the day Hurricane Irma hit. There was a hangman's noose and sexual images drawn on his family photos.

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