Flint Fire Chief Raymond Barton Replaced After Deaths of Black Boys

On Thursday, officials in Flint, Michigan, replaced Raymond Barton as the local fire chief amid a sprawling controversy in which Barton determined two of his firefighters lied about properly searching for two Black boys who died earlier this year.

Theron Wiggins, a former fire department Chief, will replace Barton following explosive revelations surrounding the deaths of 12-year-old Zy’Aire and 9-year-old LaMar Mitchell after a house fire in May. The news was first reported by Mid-Michigan NOW.

Following the tragedy, an investigation by then-Chief Barton found that firefighters Daniel Sniegocki and Michael Zlotek had not properly searched the floor and lied about having done so on official reports.

Barton later implied publicly that he had been overruled in his official decision to fire the men, fueling speculation of a coverup by Mayor Sheldon Neeley in the lead-up to a mayoral election in November.

Mayor Neeley was re-elected last week.

Speaking with MLive, 1st Ward Councilman Eric Mays said Thursday that he had personally talked to Barton since the announcement, “who told him that he had been fired from his position after refusing to resign.”

When asked to respond to questions regarding the reason for Barton’s departure, a statement to The Daily Beast from the City of Flint administration said: “As this administration transitions into its second term, we are making changes to continue to move our great city forward, as is common practice at the beginning of a new term of office. Again, we are proud to welcome Interim Fire Chief Theron Wiggins.”

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Todd Flood, a lawyer for the Mitchell boys’ parents, said after the news: “You can’t make that up.”

“Seems that would be retaliation for saying the truth, but I wasn’t in the meeting to determine factors they looked at,” he told The Daily Beast. “However, I can’t imagine, in my wildest fact patterns, good cause to fire someone that has [as much] integrity as the chief.”

Of the family, Flood said: “They admire and respect the chief for speaking the truth on the matter.”

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During the fire department’s response to the burning home—a three minute walk from the fire house—Zlotek and Sniegocki were sent to canvass the second floor of the burning house. They missed the boys, and called off a second sweep.

According to Barton’s report, precious minutes were lost after the two firefighters called an all-clear. Both boys would be found after a team was sent to vent the room seven minutes later, but not in time to save their lives.

Following the tragedy, neither firefighter was fired—a move some city officials called a coverup by Neeley. (Both Sniegocki and, as of this week, Zlotek, eventually resigned.)

The controversy over the Mitchell boys’ deaths intensified when both the boys’ mother, Crystal Cooper, and then-Chief Barton testified publicly at an October city council meeting.

There, Barton implied that his decision was overridden by city officials, which created divisions among the firefighters. “Let’s say it for what it is—it split the department,” he told Council member Dennis Pfeiffer.

Michigan State Police confirmed to The Daily Beast in early November that they had launched a criminal probe into the fire and its aftermath.

Neither the fire chief nor the mayor responded immediately to requests for comment or questions on why Barton was no longer serving as Chief.

A statement from the City of Flint extolled that city administration are “proud to announce” Chief Wiggins’ appointment as Interim Fire Chief.

“The City of Flint would like to thank Fire Chief Raymond Barton for his decades of service to this community,” it read.

According to MLive, Chief Wiggins’ appointment comes after he was often “spotlighted by controversy.” That includes a $151,200 fine—the largest ever against a Michigan fire department at the time—imposed in 2001 by the state Department of Consumer and Industry Services for “more than 90 safety violations in the fire department,” according to the publication.

In a statement to the local FOX affiliate, the firefighter union that represented the two ex-Flint firefighters appearared to claim credit for the shakeup.

“Chief Barton started out doing great things, but towards the end he tittered out. The union stressed interest to Mayor Neeley that it may be time to find a different party to lead the fire department into a positive manner," Nicholas Kendrick, President of Flints Local 352 Fighter fighters Union, said.

Read more at The Daily Beast.

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