Four fire rescuers in Florida were arrested on multiple charges after an alleged waterboarding-related hazing ritual turned violent, deputies said.
The four employees in the Marion County Fire Rescue unit were arrested for the alleged waterboarding incident after sheriff’s deputies responded to Fire Rescue Station 21 in Ocala, according to the Marion County Sheriff’s Office.
Officials said the incident allegedly took place Nov. 16. The unidentified victim reportedly was in the middle of performing his duties, at which point Tate Trauthwein, a 19-year-old co-worker, threw the victim’s boots into a wooded area.
Edward Kenny III, 22, reportedly tried to grabbed the victim from behind and both fell.
Upon arriving, law enforcement learned it allegedly started as a harmless tease but violently escalated.
According to Marion County Sheriff Bill Woods, the victim was smeared with grease and the attackers sought a TikTok video on a locked phone.
The group removed the victim’s belt and then pants during the brutal attack, police said.
Trauthwein and Kaylee Bradley, 25, allegedly took the victim’s phone but refused to give his passcode. Trauthwein proceeded to strike the victim with the belt, police say.
An emergency service call interrupted the assault, authorities say.
Hazing incidents intended to be harmless have led to serious charges.
Last month, a Rutgers University fraternity in New Jersey was permanently shut down after a student was critically injured in an alleged hazing incident.
And earlier this year, nearly a dozen New York students were given an ultimatum to turn themselves in to authorities or be prosecuted as adults following an alleged high school lacrosse team hazing incident.
Meanwhile, Trauthwein, Kenn and Day face multiple criminal counts in Florida, including kidnapping, robbery and battery. Bradley was charged as an accessory to robbery.
