Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa said Thursday he was concerned about reports that Los Angeles city firetrucks were used for porn filming.
“It does cause me concern that a film of that type would be filmed anywhere close to city property,” Villaraigosa said. “It’s unacceptable.”
He said that if allegations that city personnel were involved prove true, those employees “should be disciplined.”
The story was first reported by KNBC-TV Channel 4 , which posted clips from the video, showing a scantily clad actress exposing herself to passersby on Venice Beach.
At one point, she approaches a parked firetruck from Station 63 in Venice and exclaims, "Look at this firetruck! Isn't that nice?" before climbing onto a firetruck and exposing herself to the camera.
A second shoot allegedly used a truck from Station 41 in Hollywood.
Capt. Jaime Moore, a spokesman for the department, confirmed Thursday that the Professional Standards Division launched an investigation into the Venice porn shoot in April or May, and that the allegations of a second shoot in Hollywood came out of the investigation.
The investigation is trying to determine to what extent fire personnel had knowledge of the shoot and whether any firefighters participated, he said. No firefighters have been fired or placed on leave in relation to the incidents to date, he said.
The KNBC-TV Channel 4 report alleged that firefighters helped to set up the shoot and appeared in the video observing it. (The onlookers' faces were blurred out in the posted video). Moore said that is part of the investigation but could not confirm what involvement, if any, the firefighters had.
"They're trying to determine whether the firefighters really knew this was going to happen, did they participate, and why wasn't someone on the engine?" he said.
Personnel at the Venice and Hollywood fire stations reached by telephone declined to comment.
"It's not one of our proudest moments," Moore said. But he said the department's new chief, Brian Cummings, is "adamant that he's not going to tolerate this kind of stuff."
