MARION, Ind. (AP) _ A north central Indiana assistant fire chief has accepted a demotion after allegedly tying a rope into a noose at a station with a black firefighter whose wife is a direct descendant of a lynching victim.
The Chronicle-Tribune reports Marion firefighter Rick Backs accepted a demotion to private Tuesday after initially planning to let the Board of Public Works and Safety determine his fate at its April 6 meeting.
An investigation by Fire Chief Paul David found Backs tied a rope into a noose and left the noose in a fire station kitchen on Feb. 13. Present was black firefighter Mikel Neal, whose wife, RaChelle Fears-Neal, is a direct descendent of a man lynched in Marion in 1930.
Backs has acknowledged he showed poor judgment and offended people.
