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Woman offers to show tapes to officials
By ROBERT KING, Times Staff Writer
SPRING HILL -- The woman whose documentary film effort surrounding Spring Hill firefighters last year captured some off-color comments says fire officials will see the tapes only under certain conditions. The woman, whose artistic efforts eventually were overshadowed by allegations that she was raped by some of the firefighters she met during filming, says she won't give up her original tapes and she won't let officials keep a copy. All she will do is allow officials to watch a copy in front of a third party. "The tapes will be in my possession at all times. They are just never going to leave my possession," said the woman, whose name is withheld by the Times because of the nature of her allegations. Andrew Salzman, the attorney for the Spring Hill Fire Rescue District, has been talking with a third party representing the woman to get a look at the tapes, said Fire Chief J.J. Morrison. The tapes, shot over a 14-hour period one day last spring, contain about 21/2 hours of footage filmed at two Spring Hill fire stations and at one accident scene, the woman said. The woman said she is willing to let officials see an unedited version. But her insistence on not giving up a copy could pose a problem for fire officials, who say its contents may warrant a disciplinary investigation. Morrison said just being allowed to watch the videotape isn't enough. He needs a copy, because any firefighter facing disciplinary action must see it to defend himself. The footage became the latest focus of the fire department's ongoing troubles after fire commissioner Richard Martin said he had been allowed to watch it. At a recent fire board meeting, Martin said the tapes included firefighters making derogatory comments about women and fire officials -- remarks he deemed embarrassing to the department and worthy of investigation. The woman said she is making the tapes available now only because she has been asked to in response to Martin's public comments. "It was his idea to bring them forward," she said. People who see the film will see several firefighters who treated her with great courtesy and respect, the woman said. But they will also see the things that Martin outlined in notes he took while watching it. Martin said that includes firefighters asking her to make her documentary a pornographic film and some making insulting comments about former fire commissioner Bob Kanner, his wife and a St. Petersburg Times reporter. The woman says she plans eventually to use the footage to create a short film documentary, perhaps five to 10 minutes long, that she might enter in a film festival. And, though she hasn't decided, the film could center on her experiences of the past year. In June, she accused three Spring Hill firefighters of raping her at a firefighter's convention in Altamonte Springs. The firefighters said the sex was consensual. Prosecutors said there was insufficient evidence for criminal charges. The fire district found the three firefighters had violated department policies regarding sexual misconduct and immoral behavior. And Morrison gave them unpaid suspensions ranging from two to four weeks. The woman said she fears that giving up copies could jeopardize her anonymity. She also fears it could cost her the intellectual property rights to the footage. She doesn't intend to make money off the film, she said. But she is determined to hold onto the product of her creative efforts. "Don't you think they have taken enough from me? They can't have my tapes," she said. "I am not here to cater to the needs of the fire department." -- Robert King covers Spring Hill and can be reached at 848-1432. Send e-mail to rking@sptimes.com .
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