SOUTH BEND, Ind. — A South Bend firefighter has been suspended for 10 days without pay after he showed up three hours late to work on May 15 of this year.
In a letter to the Board of Public Safety, South Bend Fire Chief Carl Buchanon wrote that firefighter Aaron Randall informed his supervisor at 6:52 a.m. on May 15 that he would be late to his 7 a.m. shift.
At 9 a.m. that morning, Randall was still an hour away when called again by the supervisor. The firefighter working overtime who filled in for Randall was unable to stay past 9 a.m., causing the medic rig to be temporarily out of service, according to the letter.
The board voted unanimously at its Aug. 19 meeting to accept Buchanon’s recommended discipline.
Buchanan’s letter indicated the suspension was the next step in the department’s “progressive discipline.” In 2019, Randall was suspended without pay for five days for leaving work to drive to Indianapolis.
In 2016, Randall pleaded guilty to driving while intoxicated and possession of marijuana — both misdemeanors — in Elkhart County.
The Board of Public Safety placed Randall on unpaid administrative leave for the duration of the court case.
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©2020 the South Bend Tribune (South Bend, Ind.)