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Four Marion County First Responders Arrested After Alleged Violent Hazing of 19-Year-Old Firefighter in Ocala

Four Marion County first responders were arrested after an alleged hazing incident at Station 21 in Ocala on Nov. 16. Authorities say the suspects pursued a 19-year-old colleague over a TikTok video, smeared him with grease, stripped and struck him with a belt, then waterboarded him three times with a towel. Three face charges of kidnapping, battery and robbery; a fourth faces robbery-related charges. The employees were fired and the sheriff’s office is investigating while booking photos are being withheld under state law.

07:26 AM, 11/29/2025Society
Four Marion County First Responders Arrested After Alleged Violent Hazing of 19-Year-Old Firefighter in Ocala

Four Marion County first responders were arrested after authorities say they took part in a violent hazing incident targeting a 19-year-old firefighter at Fire Rescue Station 21 in Ocala, Florida.

The Marion County Sheriff’s Office identified three of the arrested as Edward Kenny III, 22, an EMT; Seth Day, 22, a firefighter/EMT; and Tate Trauthwein, 19, a firefighter/EMT. All three face charges of kidnapping, battery and robbery. A fourth person, 25-year-old EMT Kaylee Bradley, was charged with robbery and as a principal/accessory to robbery. The sheriff’s office announced the charges in a statement posted Nov. 26.

Sheriff Billy Woods said the episode began during the victim’s shift on Nov. 16 when colleagues smeared grease on him inside the station. Investigators say the suspects were attempting to obtain a TikTok video stored on the victim’s phone.

According to the sheriff, the situation escalated in the station parking lot: the four employees chased the 19-year-old, forcibly removed his pants, struck him with a belt on his backside and then removed his underwear to continue striking his bare skin after he refused to provide his phone password.

Officials say the victim was then dragged across the parking area to another location, where he was waterboarded three times with a towel. The sheriff added that the victim resisted, fought and refused to cooperate throughout the incident. The confrontation ended when the station received an unrelated call for service.

“What occurred was unacceptable, inexcusable and fundamentally contrary to the core values of our fire department,” Marion County Fire Rescue Chief James Banta told reporters. He said the employees involved have been terminated.

The sheriff’s office said booking photographs are being withheld under a Florida law that prohibits release of such images of law-enforcement personnel. It was not immediately clear whether the suspects have entered pleas or retained attorneys. Local reports indicate that, except for Kenny, the other suspects have since been released on bond.

Banta also said the 19-year-old victim remains employed at the station and has chosen not to take time off while the investigation continues. The Marion County Sheriff’s Office is continuing its probe into the incident.

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