The President of the Firefighters Union has officially called on the city of New Orleans to stop having firefighters involved in the removal of the city's Confederate-era monuments.
President Nick Felton issued a statement Thursday:
"The New Orleans Firefighters Association, Local 632 is calling on the City of New Orleans to stop putting Firefighters in harm's way by involving them in the removal of the monuments. While the Union is not here to take a stand on the removal of the monuments, we ARE here to defend our membership when they are used to perform tasks that they are not trained to do and put them at unnecessary risk. Firefighters do not belong in riot gear doing police-type work. Firefighters are being threatened because the City Administration has drug us into this, and we want the public and everyone to know – that we feel Firefighters have no business being involved in this divisive issue. Our commitment and mission remains to protect the citizens of this city from the perils of fire."
Felton said earlier in the week that it is believed that a 'handful' of firefighters were on the scene of the removal of the monument to the Battle of Liberty Place early Monday.
New Orleans began the process of taking down Confederate statues early Monday with the removal of the monument to the Battle at Liberty Place. The city became the latest Southern body to divorce itself from what some say are symbols of racism and intolerance but which opponents say are historic.
The crews used to remove the monuments wore masks and full body suits to protect their identity. At one point as local media was showing live video of the removal, crews were asked to move so as to not show an angle that could reveal the identity of those doing the removal.
Landrieu said the memorials were coming down during the wee hours because of death threats and intimidation from some of those who want the monuments to stay and to minimize city disruption.
A City Hall spokesman earlier Sunday issued a statement that said the city is "committed to taking down the Confederate monuments" but would not say when.
"Due to the widely known intimidation, threats, and violence there remains serious safety concerns," the statement continued. "Therefore, we will not be sharing the details on removal timeline."
