Sangamon Co. (ECWd) –
Once again, Rochester Fire Protection District (FPD) Trustee Gary McBride becomes newsworthy. The trustees of the Rochester FPD held a meeting on December 14, 2022. Gary McBride is the Board President and apparently, he felt he could intimidate and headbutt a camera being held by a citizen who was filming the meeting.
Considering the camera was being held by the citizen, this action could constitute battery according to the attorney we spoke with.
McBride is no newcomer to intimidation. We covered his attempted intimidation of us in this article.
As if intimidation is not bad enough, McBride admitted to releasing an attorney-client privileged communication. There was no board approval for that release. This should be of no surprise as McBride basically ignored all the malfeasance and self-dealing of Fire Chief John Archer who was funneling FPD business through his private company, which we covered in this article and Channel 17 covered in this story.
When a Board President has no interest in accountability and is willing to do what he has done, it is a clear indicator to us that it is time for him to resign.
The video below is of McBride headbutting the camera on the way out of the meeting.
2 Comments
John Q. Public
Posted at 13:41h, 24 DecemberI’ve never understood why so many public officials get PO’d when a member of the public videotapes them…even if it’s a pesky public accountability group : ). (I say that in jest. Keep doing what you’re doing!) I mean, really – who should care if someone is filming? I suspect, as your story points out, there’s a lot to unpack in the thought process of this individual and anyone who gets riled up at a camera. As long as cameras aren’t literally stuck in people’s faces and don’t hinder or block their physical movement – get used to it people!
Dave
Posted at 11:26h, 24 DecemberNarcissistic much…… LOL