Coast fire chief headbutts on-duty firefighter
Published 7:57 pm Wednesday, April 25, 2018
GULFPORT (AP) — A Mississippi Gulf Coast fire chief has been found to have headbutted another firefighter in a physical altercation while on duty.
The Sun Herald reports that Gulfport Fire Chief Mike Beyerstedt “became enraged” and lunged headfirst at another firefighter earlier this month, according to an incident report filed with the Gulfport police department.
Gulfport’s Chief Administrative Officer John Kelly said earlier this month the city received a complaint following the April 6 incident at Central Fire Station and began investigating. The Sun Herald obtained the incident report through a public records request.
Beyerstedt has served as Mississippi’s second-largest city’s fire chief since March 2011. Before serving in Gulfport, he was a firefighter and fire chief in Jackson’s fire department. He was previously a sergeant in the United States Marine Corps.