MBFD chief fired for “foot on throat” comments
Former Manhattan Beach Fire Chief Daryn Drum. File photo Manhattan Beach Fire Department Chief Daryn Drum was dismissed last week due to language he used on a conference call with regional public safety officials in which he urged a negotiation tactic of “not taking our foot off their throat,” as well as comments on a local podcast in which he spoke sympathetically of a police shooting that happened near his former jurisdiction in North San Diego County. In the wake of the May 25 incident in Minneapolis in which a police officer kept his knee on the throat of George Floyd for 8 minutes and 46 seconds, strangling him to death and sparking nationwide Black Lives Matter protests, Drum’s language drew the city’s immediate attention. In a press release issued at 7 p.m. on Friday, June 19, City Manager Bruce Moe announced Drum had been relieved of his duties and his employment agreement with MBFD had been terminated. “We need thoughtful leaders offering voices that are open and inclusive,” Moe said in a statement. “Chief Drum’s recent comments do not reflect our core values as a City, and an immediate change of Fire Department leadership is in the community’s best interests.” The city…
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