HARALSON COUNTY, Ga. — A Georgia firefighter involved in an alleged hazing scandal and alleged cover-up got promoted and is being paid to stay at home.
Channel 2’s Michael Doudna first reported on hazing allegations in Haralson County back in June.
Doudna learned that the county was offering the firefighter a severance package. But his former boss has now promoted him and is paying him to stay on home while he remains on paid leave.
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Former Haralson County firefighter Michael Wilson says on his second day with a new shift that he was put through a program designed as a hazing ritual by Lt. Harold Lee Ray.
“There is no question in my mind it was hazing and not training,” Wilson said. “I tore my rotator. I had to fix something in my labrum, and then I had a tear in my elbow.”
When Wilson tried to blow the whistle, the investigation found Deputy Chief John Entrekin and Mike Cummings tried to cover it up.
All three men were set to be fired or demoted, but County CEO and former fire chief Brian Walker reversed the discipline.
In June, he told Doudna that he reversed the decision for concerns over a lawsuit.
Wilson and his attorneys say this is why victims don’t speak out.
“Because they fear the exact type of consequence that Mr. Wilson faced,” attorney Nik Erramilli said.
Several months later, the new fire chief demoted Entrekin. But Walker promoted him again and then placed him on leave.
“We got a fire truck, engines, and ladders that don’t always work, and they say they don’t have the budget to fix it, but they could pay him to sit at home,” Wilson said.
Doudna learned that nearly every fire station in the county operates with just one firefighter per truck, so it is a big deal to be down even one person.
Channel 2 Action News reached out to the Walker and the attorney representing the county, who said they do not comment on pending litigation.
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