BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. – A Brevard County firefighter at the center of an investigation regarding a blackface Halloween photo that surfaced on social media in November has been fired, according to the county’s communications director.
Jake Johnson, who worked at Brevard Fire Rescue Station 63 in Indialantic, was terminated Wednesday morning, according to Brevard County Communications Director Don Walker. It has not been confirmed whether Johnson was fired as a direct result of the blackface incident.
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The image, featuring two men and a woman, was taken at a Halloween party on Oct. 30 with the caption, “Yes, Denzel Washington and O.J. Simpson showed up to our party.”
In a statement to News 6, the woman in the image, who posted it on social media, claimed she did not know the term “blackface” until a friend notified her after posting the picture. She said after learning about the history of the term, she deleted the post.
After the party, Johnson went on vacation for two weeks. The county said his time off was scheduled before the picture came to light.
When he returned to work in mid-November, Johnson was assigned to “light duty,” according to Walker.