12 Houston Fire Department cadets terminated for sharing racist, hateful memes in Instagram group chat
FILE - A man uses a cell phone in New Orleans on Aug. 11, 2019. (AP Photo/Jenny Kane, File) (Jenny Kane)
12 cadets at the Houston Fire Department were terminated after an Instagram group chat surfaced where they were sharing offensive and hateful content.
The move was announced by Houston Fire Chief Thomas Muñoz, who called the behavior “inconsistent with the [HFD] Code of Conduct.”
HFD sources did not disclose the specific nature of the chat’s contents, but they said it contained “inappropriate memes and images.”
“Racism and hateful behavior have no home in Mayor Whitmire’s administration or the Houston Fire Department,” Chief Muñoz added.
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About the Author Michael Horton headshot
Michael is a Kingwood native who loves visiting local restaurants and overreacting to Houston sports. He joined the KPRC 2 family in 2024. He earned his BA from Texas A&M University in 2022 and his MA from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2023.
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