Being a fire chief is not an easy job. It fact for many reasons it may very well be the worst job on the department. Bernie Becker was the fire chief in Clearcreek Township, Ohio for 11 years. During his tenure he was subjected to repeated accusations of misconduct by the union.
In February, 2008 the union accused Chief Becker of sexual harassment, creating a hostile work environment and abuse of power in a written complaint made to township officials. The complaint alleged 15 different incidents, and somehow found its way to the hands of the media. Chief Becker chose to resign in July, 2008, and filed suit against the union in October, 2008 for defamation and invasion of privacy.
Chief Becker alleged that the maliciously false accusations forced him to resign from Clearcreek Township, and caused him to lose several job offers in other departments. On the eve of trial that was supposed to start last week, the union moved for summary judgment on the basis that, as a public figure, Chief Becker had to prove “actual malice”…. Remember the movie??? In other words, to prevail the Chief had to prove not only that the union’s allegations were false, but that union officials knew they were false when they made them, or acted with recklessly disregard to whether they were true or false. That is a very difficult standard to prove!
Judge James L. Flannery concluded that Chief Becker failed to demonstrate to the court “some circumstance appearing in the record that would show that the Union entertained serious doubts about the truths of the allegations when the letter was written.” As a result, the judge ruled in favor of the union, effectively ending the case. There has been no word on an appeal as of yet.
Here is the courts actual ruling. Download Becker_final_ruling[1]
Wow. I find it difficult to understand why it is so hard to defend oneself in court. Why does the plaintiff have to work so hard to just to have his case heard? How is he ever gonna prove they lied on purpose? I don’t know if he is guilty or not but I sure would have liked it to go to court to see what others thought.
Curt, your opening statement is so true. The job of fire chief has changed so much in the past decade and the climate many chiefs must operate under is best described as tenuous. Sad fact, but pursuing legal action to satisfy or remedy a separation from service issue never seems to bring justice or consolation to any party. My observation is if chiefs gather early advice from peer organizations and legal counsel they are in the best position to achieve the best resolution possible, but they have to be willing to listen to the advice.