TAMPA, Fla — The Hillsborough County Naacp president, Yvette Lewis, told ABC Action News that she's upset.
"This kind of behavior is unacceptable in 2023," she said.
And to understand why, we have to take you back to January.
According to the Tampa Fire union, IAFF Local 754, that's when a toy monkey was found hanging from the ceiling of Firehouse 13.
The union president, Nicola Stocco, told us that concerns about that monkey and what it represented were then brought to the city's Human Resources (HR) department in February.
And Stocco added that the city's HR department wrapped up an investigation into the incident in mid-April.
RELATED: Local NAACP demanding answers amid Tampa Fire Rescue investigation
But at this point, the outcome of that investigation isn't clear, leading to concerns from the local NAACP branch.
"So my question is what is the City of Tampa HR department doing, and this is how they handle employee complaints?" said Lewis.
In an email to ABC Action News on June 15, the Black firefighter who initially filed the complaint about the monkey, let us know that he found a picture of himself with a demeaning word scrawled across his forehead.
He also sent us proof of that picture, but we are choosing not to show it because of that racially offensive language. It's a situation that's now causing Lewis to also raise concerns about that first responder's safety.
"So, you're asking him to go into uncertain conditions and have a clear frame of mind. It's hard to do when you're thinking all this time, 'Who hung this monkey?'" she said.
Since that email exchange, we've been in touch with the Tampa Police Department (TPD), Tampa Fire Rescue and the City of Tampa itself.
All three have let us know that they don't tolerate this alleged behavior and confirmed that there is an active TPD investigation into these concerns.
All three have also declined to comment further due to this pending investigation.
But Lewis wants to see more immediate change, starting with comprehensive diversity training for all city employees.
"And when I said intense diversity, I truly mean some candid and open conversations," she said.
Monday night, Stocco echoed that call—and he told ABC Action News the union would be partnering with the NAACP to host a two-day Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) training for all Tampa firefighters and city administration. The current goal is to host that training in late July.
He also released a lengthy statement to clarify misconceptions about the union's role in this ongoing investigation and to clear up confusion about their representation of the firefighter who launched those complaints:
Tampa Firefighters Local 754 has zero tolerance for any discrimination based on race, color, creed/religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, disability, familial status, marital status, military status, or any other protected class as defined by federal law. Local 754 takes pride in the diversity of its membership roster.
In reference to recent headlines, Local 754 did not receive complaints from any of its members. The complaints were filed directly with the City of Tampa Human Resources Department. The Investigations of the complaints were conducted by the City of Tampa. The findings of the Investigations were made by the City of Tampa.
We represent the 734 members of the bargaining unit pursuant to the terms of a Collective Bargaining Agreement. We currently have many open Investigations filed with the City's Human Resources Department. We expect the City to take every complaint seriously and to address all complaints fairly. All members who file grievances with the Union elect to continue or discontinue their own grievances. Contrary to recent headlines, the Union never stopped representing a member without his/her consent. In fact, The Union initiated the grievance(s) against the City of Tampa for failing to adhere to the Formal Investigations provision of the CBA.
There is no excuse for harassment or discrimination within our workplace.
Those who are determined to have engaged in such conduct should be punished.
Both Lewis and Stocco also confirmed to ABC Action News on Monday that they've had a meeting to discuss this case and what they'd like to see happen moving forward.
"The NAACP will be following this case extremely close[ly]. We will be watching it. And we expect to see some results," said Lewis.
We have contacted the firefighter at the center of these concerns for a formal interview, and we are waiting to hear back.
In the meantime, ABC Action News is still pushing the City of Tampa, Tampa Fire Rescue and the Tampa Police Department for answers—which includes asking for a copy of the HR investigation the city completed back in April.
Tuesday afternoon, a city spokesperson told ABC Action News that we couldn't see any documents related to that HR investigation—due to the current police investigation.
And when we asked him if that meant the completed HR investigation was now subject to police scrutiny, he didn't respond.
