(Oct. 17) -- A Pennsylvania firefighter who put an American flag sticker on the front of his locker has been suspended without pay for refusing to take the Old Glory decal down.
James Krapf, along with nearly a dozen other Chester, Pa. firefighters, were ordered to remove personal items from the outside of their lockers -- a violation of department policy, MyFoxPhilly.com reported.
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Krapf refused to do so and the department suspended him Thursday. So far, he's the only one on forced leave.
"I shouldn't have to remove the flag of the country I believe in. I love my country," Krapf told the Fox affiliate.
The department directed firefighters to keep the outside of their lockers undecorated after some employees took offense to a racially-motivated cartoon posted last summer.
Department officials told The Philadelphia Inquirer that banning any decor from lockers was the only way to prevent fighting among employees.
"The directive says 'everything,' " Capt. John Barbato, vice president of the department's union, told the newspaper. "I never would've thought the American flag would be included in that."
For the full story, visit MyFoxPhilly.com.com and The Philadelphia Inquirer.
