“We don’t have a choice right now,” he said. “We need to wait for the courts.”
Really?
Best as I understand, most reputable fire and EMS departments have regulations that govern the conduct of their sworn personnel, both on and off-duty. Certainly with behavior that most of us in the business find abhorrent, being charged with DUI and resisting arrest, would result in some type of administrative leave or work restriction until being cleared or convicted.
You might argue that what we do as private citizens should have no bearing on being an EMS professional. Respectfully, I disagree.
The community’s trust in its public safety providers takes continuous effort to maintain, and can be destroyed by a single misstep. In this situation, it seems very unusual that the department has no say in what to do with a member who is facing very serious charges of poor and reckless conduct.
Placing personnel on administrative leave helps to protect both the department as well as the member — it transmits the message that the department takes its commitment to the community seriously, while supporting the employee as the case goes through the judicial process.
We are held to a higher standard, whether we agree with it or not. It’s essential that an EMS organization maintain its high standards so that it can continue to enjoy its community support.
Not having conduct rules in place is one way to damage that trust.
