The fire chief in a small town near Birmingham has been fired after an investigation into workplace harassment.

Chief Jason Rickels was accused of swatting at a firefighter’s groin, using demeaning language and trying to stop the employee from filing a complaint, according to an investigative report prepared by J.W. Furman, a lawyer in Birmingham.

“…all the interviewees offered that they or some of their coworkers were uncomfortable or fearful around Chief Rickels,“ according to the report. ”All said he is constantly offensive in his speech and demeanor. More mentioned his anger and their concern over retaliation.”

Rickels has said the allegations are unfounded. He also called the public hearings inappropriate.

The Tarrant City Council responded to the report at a special called meeting Thursday evening and voted to fire Rickels. Four of the five members agreed to the termination with Councilman Tommy Bryant abstaining.

“The council had to do what we had to do,” said councilwoman and mayor pro-tem Tracie Threadford after the vote.

She told AL.com the report was troubling and said it required action.

Scott Morro, attorney for Rickels, was not at Thursday’s meeting and could not be reached for comment for this article.

But he has previously said the investigation was designed to embarrass and disparage his client. Rickels and the city have remained at an impasse over a previous legal dispute.

It’s the second time Rickels has been fired from the chief job in the town of 6,000 just east of Birmingham.

In 2021, Tarrant Mayor Wayman Newton fired Rickels following a property dispute near Atlanta where Rickels brandished a gun but was later cleared.

Back then, the chief then won an appeal and was allowed to go back to work. The Jefferson County Personnel Board ruled that Rickels had been improperly fired because the mayor didn’t follow notification rules to do it. The board ordered the city to give Rickels back pay for the time he was off work.

That meant the small city had two fire chiefs with Rickels and his replacement both claiming command.

Rickels had previously agreed not to return to the fire station if the city settled and paid him back pay and legal fees.

Instead, Rickels began coming to work and asserting his disputed role as fire chief.

His lawyer has argued that Rickels is owed pay and salary through retirement which could exceed $368,000.

The mayor in May passed out a letter accusing Rickels of harassing another firefighter and recommended placing him on administrative leave with pay.

Rickels responded to the allegation by email but did not speak during disciplinary hearings. He also attended Thursday evening’s meeting but did not speak.

The firefighter alleged that Rickels had used demeaning language but more importantly swatted at the man’s groin during a conversation. Rickels in the report said he did not know if actual physical contact was made. Rickels defended himself in an email to the city.

“The sexual harassment complaint, in particular, is completely unfounded,” he wrote.

Instead, Rickels said his response was a reaction to the firefighter harassing him.

“My response, which was a moment of frustration, was not intended to be harassment and was far from the behavior described in the allegations,” he wrote. “This situation was more about one individual pushing boundaries and another person finally reaching a breaking point.”

However, the firefighter and witnesses alleged otherwise, calling it unwanted sexual touching and further accused Rickels of threatening retaliatory action to stop the complaint. Other allegations of harassing speech, bulling and creating a hostile work environment were also alleged in the report. Ten other fire fighter employees were interviewed during the investigation.

Rickels’ termination vote was a rare display of agreement between the mayor and the city council.

Newton and the council frequently battle and disagree on issues both major and minor, including the fate of city employees and department heads. While Newton did not vote Thursday evening, he supported the termination.

Newton, who has previously sparred with Rickels also made his feelings about the former fire chief clear in a videotaped encounter earlier this year.

“The city council made the right decision based on the actions of former Fire Chief Jason Rickels,” Newton told AL.com. “Accountability matters, and the people of Tarrant deserve a fire chief they can trust.”