Investigation of incendiary video ongoing

The Clarion-Ledger, 12/28/7

An internal investigation is under way to determine if Jackson’s assistant fire chief, Todd Chandler, was in a 13-year-old video mocking black firefighters.

“First, we’ll determine if it was, indeed, him. Second, we’ll try to determine if this was a prank, if they were just bad-mouthing black firefighters or were they trying to do something to cause problems,” Chief Vernon Hughes said Thursday.

The tape, made in 1994, is a video tour of Station 12. One clip shows a Confederate flag on a blackboard. Then comes a segment showing a firefighter, thought to be Chandler, using phrases and gestures associated with derogatory stereotyping of blacks as he imitates a black firefighter.