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Monday, May 18, 2009
Firefighters seek injunction to block city from merging job duties
DAYTON — The union that represents Dayton firefighters has filed for an injunction, seeking to block the city from making lieutenants and captains from working in a newly created position.
The motion for a temporary restraining order, and preliminary and permanent injunctions, was filed Thursday, May 14, by International Association of Firefighters Local 136. The union represents the city’s 10 district chiefs, 23 captains, 45 lieutenants, plus firefighters and paramedics.
At issue is an order that creates the position of House Commander. That order was to go into effect Monday, May 18, though the city agreed to delay implementation until May 29. According to the union’s motion, it would require lieutenants and captains “to work out of rank” in violation of the bargaining agreement between the city and the union.
“We vigorously disagree with that,” City Manager Rashad Young said Monday, adding that the city has the right to implement policies and procedures. He denied that the change represented a unilateral change to working conditions.
Young said the change would save the city $150,000 to $200,000, much of it in overtime costs. It would also add flexibility to staffing, he said.
The change blends the responsibilities of the two ranks, according to the motion. Under the current command structure, a lieutenant is in charge of a fire company, consisting of that lieutenant and three firefighters on platoon assigned to an engine. A captain is assigned to a ladder truck and supervises a company on a fire scene.
“The fire captain is responsible on the fire scene to act as the commander of the inside operation, which consists of all crews inside the structure, typically between 12 and 20 firefighters, including lieutenants,” the motion states.
By altering the chain of command, contrary to training and experience, “the city’s proposal jeopardizes the safety of not only the firefighters but the citizens of Dayton in the event of a fire,” the motion states.
Young denied that the changes would reduce safety, either for firefighters or the public.
Union President Mike Fasnacht was told of the plan on Aug. 21. He requested to bargain with the city over what the union considered changes to the working conditions. The city took the position that it was not required to negotiate any change to those job duties, and the union filed a grievance and an unfair labor practice, the motion states.
Fasnacht said Monday that the grievance and ULP are still pending, and that the purpose of the restraining order is to keep the status quo until those measures can be settled.
Young said that he expects the city to win both the grievance and the ULP, so there is no reason to wait.
“Every day that we wait, it costs us significant money,” Young said. “We’ve already delayed this.”
There will be a hearing Thursday in Montgomery County Common Pleas Court about the temporary restraining order, Fasnacht said.
The issue would have been settled by a memorandum of understanding, which would have amended the contract, which expires in October 2010. The MOU would have allowed for employees on a promotion list to work at a higher rank and assume more duties when needed, but for the same hourly pay. The membership voted down the MOU on April 17.
Young said that the MOU showed that the city was willing to negotiate in good faith, but the union members turned down the compromise.
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Lawsuit filed against Dayton Police
DAYTON — The estate of a man shot during a drug bust last year has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the city of Dayton and the police department, demanding $50,000 in damages.
William O. Cass, Jr., administrator of the estate of Derrick J. Jordan, filed the lawsuit on Thursday, May 14. The complaint also lists Detective David L. House and an Officer “John Doe,” as defendants.
Jordan, 22, died May 30, nearly two weeks after he was shot. In October, a Montgomery County grand jury declined to indict either House or Detective Raymond St. Clair, because the jurors felt “there was no criminal liability,” according to the Montgomery County Prosecutor’s Office.
The lawsuit claims detectives “recklessly and with total disregard for the consequences, indiscriminately shot into the vehicle and thereby shot Derrick J. Jordan without legal cause, justification or excuse.”
The lawsuit seeks damages for medical expenses, funeral expenses, loss of support and services and the mental anguish incurred by Jordan’s next of kin. Jordan’s estate is seeking $25,000 plus interest in compensatory damages, plus $50,000 in punitive damages.”
City spokesman Tom Biedenharn said the city would not comment on a pending lawsuit.
During the May 15, 2008 drug bust, House fired into a car that had hit him and another detective as they tried to arrest Robert A. Moore, 19, one of four people in the car, on drug trafficking charges, according to police.
The driver, Charles D. Stargell Jr., 24, hit the gas as the detectives approached in a driveway between a McDonald’s and an Econo Lodge in the 2100 block of Edwin C. Moses Boulevard.
The car hit House, causing him to flip onto its hood, then St. Clair, causing him to accidentally discharge his weapon into the rear side passenger window on the driver’s side.
House fired a shot at the driver through the passenger side because he feared for the safety of others, police Chief Richard Biehl said later. The bullet struck Jordan, a passenger, in the head. He died May 30 at Miami Valley Hospital.
Stargell drove on as a passenger flipped a Cobra .380 semiautomatic gun out of a window. An unmarked police cruiser then rammed the car.
Moore pleaded guilty in September to one count of drug trafficking (cocaine) and was sentenced to three years in prison.
Stargell pleaded guilty Oct. 15, to single counts of felonious assault, failure to comply with an order or signal of a police officer and complicity to drug trafficking (cocaine). He was sentenced to five years in prison.
