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Portland Retirees Sue to Block Withholding
Five retired Portland, Oregon police officers and firefighters have filed a class action lawsuit against the Portland Fire and Police Disability and Retirement Board seeking to block a plan to recoup roughly $3 million in claimed overpayments to retirees going back 13 years. The suit was filed August 25, 2011 in state court on behalf of roughly 850 retirees affected by the action. The retirement board discovered they had been overpaying retirees by an average of 2.38%, and is seeking to recover the overpayments by deducting the amounts from retirees present checks. The legal theory behind the…
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Williamsport Firefighters File Due Process Suit
Three Williamsport, Pennsylvania firefighters have filed suit in Federal court alleging that their civil rights were violated when the city’s Civil Service Commission refused to grant them a hearing. Mark Webster, Noel Ferari and David Weaver applied to take a promotional examination for Platoon Chief scheduled for May 5, 2011. On May 4th they were informed by telephone that they lacked the required certifications and could not take the exam. Each firefighter requested a hearing before the Civil Service Commission, and were informed that the Commission “unanimously voted with the opinion of counsel to deny your request for a hearing”. The…
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Scottish Firefighter Lost the Plot
“Lost the Plot”…. No its not a typo. I usually do not cover legal matters from other countries, but there was something intriguing about this story and the common language that separates the US from the UK. A senior firefighter from Hamilton, in Scotland, is in trouble with the law for directing threatening and abusive behavior towards his girlfriend. Steven Aitchison of Strathclyde Fire and Rescue, was arrested and charged earlier this year with choking Shauna McManus, and tearing up her home. In March the case was deferred pending Aitchison’s remaining on good behavior for six months. He appeared for final sentencing today and…
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Racism Alleged in West Memphis FD
Some angry words and threats of litigation are fueling a dispute over promotions in the West Memphis Fire Department.
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The Public’s Right To Take Photos At Incident Scenes
Today’s burning question: Do firefighters and emergency medical personnel have the authority to stop people from taking photos at emergency scenes? Does it matter whether the filming is being done by the media or ordinary citizens? Perhaps as a result of the wide spread use of digital and cellphone cameras, these questions continue to resurface time and time again. Last week, the United States 1st Circuit Court of Appeals reaffirmed that we have absolutely no right to interfere with photo taking by the media or citizens in public places, and that we could be held liable for violating the First…
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FDNY Calendar Model in Hot Water
An FDNY firefighter has been suspended following a domestic dispute under some rather peculiar circumstances. Taylor Murphy, who appeared as Mr. March in a 2011 firefighter calendar, was arrested last week following a domestic assault incident with girlfriend. Apparently two weeks ago, Murphy and his girlfriend were at a strip club. That seems to be contributing factor number 1. Murphy’s girlfriend is actually a stunningly beautiful model named Claudia Charriez. In fact, she was on America’s Next Top Model in 2006. See her photos. Let’s call that contributing factor number 2. Contributing factor number 3 occurred when several patrons asked…
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NY Fire Department Sued for $3 million in Strange Wrongful Death Case
Here’s today’s burning question: Can my fire department be sued if a driver smashes into a parked ambulance belonging to another fire department? Apparently so if you are in New York!!! A New York volunteer fire company and a village are being sued for wrongful death over a 2010 crash that did not even involve one of its vehicles. On Tuesday, Carol A. Durham filed a $3 million lawsuit against the Village of Philadelphia, the Philadelphia Volunteer Fire Department Inc., and the driver of a PVFD ambulance, Cole Q. Jenne, claiming their negligence contributed to an April 24, 2010 accident that…
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Discipline in Louisville Metro EMS Making News
Louisville Metro EMS has been in the news lately with a number of disciplinary issues. Most of the cases have been drug related, leading the Department to declare a “zero tolerance” for illegal drug use. You may recall the case of Tammy Renee Brewer, who was charged with murder in 2008 following a fatal ambulance accident where she was driving an ambulance while impaired on methadone. She subsequently pled guilty to manslaughter and was sentenced to 10 years in prison. The Department and the local Teamsters union that represents the EMS employees reached an agreement on August 11, 2011 which…
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Colorado Firefighter’s Prank Will Be Costly
A Colorado firefighter is facing criminal charges and departmental discipline following a prank he played on a fellow firefighter. Firefighter Kevin Adler, 38, a 13 year veteran of the Greeley Fire Department, allegedly put sugar in the gas tank of fellow firefighter Greg Holmes, causing between $2,000 and $3,000 damage. The incident occurred on August 14, 2011 while Holmes was working overtime. News reports indicate that a romantic jealousy may have been the motive behind the prank, and that it may be connected to a similar prank that damaged the vehicle of another firefighter, Jay Oster, last May. Both Holmes…
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Parents File Claim Against NJ Fire Department For Sexual Misconduct
The parents of a 19-year-old female EMT have filed a claim against Greenwich Township and the Greenwich Fire Department alleging that officials failed to supervise and prevent improper sexual relationships between two chief officers and minor female members. John and Patricia Newton first informed township officials back in February about improprieties between their daughter, Jordan Newton, and Fire Chief Wade MacFarland and Assistant Chief Charles Reinhart. Jordan had been with the department since she was 16. The Newtons were told they should take the matter up with the volunteer fire department, not the township. The Newton’s then contacted the fire…
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Illinois Fire Chief Considering Rescinding His Resignation
An Illinois fire chief who agreed to resign in the midst of a controversy is threatening to rescind his resignation after the president of the fire protection district publically commented on the allegations in violation of a non-disclosure agreement. Orland Fire Protection District’s Fire Chief Bryant Krizik agreed to accept a retirement package following an investigation into sexually inappropriate material on his department issued computer. The chief has steadfast denied any responsibility for the material, claiming the computer was used by numerous members of the department for training and promotional study purposes. The investigation was initiated shortly after James Hickey was…
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Another Volunteer Organization the Victim of Insider Theft
Its only been a week, but there’s been yet another case of theft in the volunteer fire service – this time in northwest New York state. Robert Kawski, president of the Chautauqua County Fireman’s Fraternity, has been charged with grand larceny and passing bad checks in regards to funds missing from the organization. The Chautauqua case marks the 76th documented case of major theft in the volunteer service since 2006. To be clear, the 76 cases involve the theft of funds in excess of $10,000 from a volunteer fire department. It does not include 27 additional cases of the theft…
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Misconduct in Florida Leads to Civil Suit
A poor decision by a fire officer who missed an EMS run to watch a youth soccer match in 2009, is under scrutiny again, this time by the family of the woman who died. Sharon Villatoro’s family filed the wrongful death suit last Friday against the city of North Port alleging negligence and the breach of a “nondelegable duty of reasonable care to respond to emergency calls.” On November 21, 2009, Villatoro was experiencing difficulty breathing and called 911. At the time, Lt. Robert Combs and his crew had taken their ladder truck to a youth soccer game approximately 3…
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