'Many procedural failures' | Firefighter unfairly dismissed after incident with YouTuber, tribunal finds

A firefighter who was filmed taking a member of the public’s phone and throwing it into undergrowth during a filmed confrontation was unfairly dismissed, an employment tribunal has ruled.

John Linden [the claimant], a station manager at Norfolk Fire and Rescue Service [the respondent], was dismissed for gross misconduct following an altercation with a local YouTuber, Mr Evans, who had been recording a fire scene. The tribunal heard that on 14th June 2023, “the claimant grabbed Mr Evans’ phone from him when it was thrust towards him and immediately threw it away into the nearby vegetation.”

The incident was captured on video and uploaded to YouTube, where, according to the tribunal, it “attracted negative public attention.” The tribunal noted that “media and social media reports and the posting online of video footage of a fire officer taking a member of the public’s phone without consent and throwing it away” was likely to “damage the reputation of the respondent and undermine public confidence.”

Mr Linden was dismissed following a disciplinary hearing chaired by Assistant Chief Fire Officer Anthony White, who concluded that his actions were intentional and amounted to gross misconduct. Mr White told the hearing that the evidence “leans towards an intentional action” and that the incident “negatively impacted the reputation of the respondent, eroding public trust and confidence in the service.”