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NEW BEDFORD — Fire lieutenant Chuck Bailey has been placed on administrative leave after his social media posts drew condemnation from fellow first responders and South Coast LGBTQ+ leaders. 

A third-party investigator will review Bailey’s Facebook posts and comments that derided drag performance as a “mental illness” and homosexuality as “sinful,” the city said. The fire lieutenant has been placed on paid administrative leave, according to city spokesperson Jonathan Darling.

There is no definite timeline for Bailey’s administrative leave, according to Darling, who wrote in an email to The Light that it will continue “until the outside investigation into the social media post is complete.”

New Bedford fire lieutenants, such as Bailey, supervise multiple firefighters and can oversee firehouses. Fellow New Bedford firefighter Brian Gallant condemned Bailey’s online posts, calling them “disgusting garbage.”

Andy Pollock, president of the South Coast LGBTQ+ Network previously told The Light that, “Ignorance, especially from a public official, is just not acceptable.” He continued, “We welcome dialogue, discussion, and learning. But this visceral response is not what we welcome.”

The Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination (MCAD) provides guidance that says personal social media posts can affect workplace harassment claims. And personnel policies for the city of New Bedford, which cover the fire department, protect sexual orientation and gender identity.

Email Colin Hogan at chogan@newbedfordlight.org

One reply on “Fire lieutenant placed on leave after social media posts”

  1. My god, why would he post his true feelings about LGBTQ+ some of whom are his fellow employees? You would think in his position, he would have had the intelligence to keep his feelings quiet. I guess we should not be surprised. The religious right/evangelicals have shown us what they are all about in the past few years.

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