By Katy Barnitz
Albuquerque Journal
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — A city firefighter who resigned after hanging up on a 911 caller attempting to save a wounded friend has filed a lawsuit alleging he was terminated days into a new job with the Bernalillo County Fire Department when a commissioner expressed concern over his hiring.
Matthew Sanchez was a 10-year veteran of the Albuquerque Fire Department when he fielded a call June 26, 2015, from a frantic teenage girl attempting to render aid to Jaydon Chavez-Silver. The popular Manzano High School athlete had been fatally shot in a drive-by shooting, and the teen was attempting to keep him alive, at times cussing at the 911 operator, Sanchez. After the teen swore, Sanchez told her to “deal with this yourself” before hanging up.
The 911 tape made national headlines.
A year later, he was hired as a firefighter for the county, which triggered media coverage and assurance from the fire department that “he would be judged based on his merits in the academy,” he says in his lawsuit filed in state District Court last week.
Following the media coverage, Commissioner Wayne Johnson sent an email to the county manager, fire chief and a deputy county manager for health and public safety, saying that Sanchez had “proven that he doesn’t have the temperament to handle” stressful situations, Johnson told the Journal in an interview Wednesday.
Three days into the county fire department’s academy, Sanchez was told by a county official that he was being fired and that the decision was “out of his control,” according to his lawsuit.
Sanchez’s attorney Leon Howard says Johnson “unlawfully inserted himself” into the county’s hiring and firing decisions by sending the email. The lawsuit alleges the email was sent to the county’s human resources department, in “clear violation” of county policy.
Johnson, one of eight candidates running for mayor of Albuquerque, says he didn’t pressure anyone to fire Sanchez.
“I’m expressing concern about a hire, and I think that’s appropriate,” Johnson said. “At no point did I direct the manager to take action.”
Sanchez, in his breach of contract lawsuit against the entire county commission, is seeking compensatory, consequential and punitive damages. No hearings have been scheduled.
Howard said that during his client’s tenure at AFD, which included time as a firefighter and as a dispatcher, Sanchez received awards from the mayor’s office. He said Sanchez never intended to work as a dispatcher again but wanted to return to fire fighting, which is “what he does best and is passionate about.”
“It’s really time for this community to give one of our heroes a second chance and direct their anger toward the people who were behind the drive-by shooting,” Howard said. “He made a horrible lapse in judgment.”
For now, Sanchez is doing construction work.
Copyright 2017 Albuquerque Journal