Fire Law Blog Fire Service and Public Safety Legal Issues Blog by Curt Varone
Two YCMTSU cases caught my eye over the weekend. The first involved a Long Island EMT who got the brilliant idea to solicit someone on Craigslist to take his refresher exam. The second involved the settlement of a Louisiana lawsuit that arose when a group of Muslim women delivered gifts to an EMS dispatch center on September 11, 2010.
Both are complicated… but both are interesting.
On Long Island, EMT Bernard Shore of the Port Washington Fire Department is alleged to have posted the following on Craigslist on June 19, 2013:
“I am looking for a EMT-CC or Paramedic to take the state test for me. Must be a male age 40+ I will take care of the ID. Contact me tru [sic] this site. I am refreshing after 12 years and I have a disability that I cant sit for 3-4 hours. I would do it myself if I could.”
An undercover reporter for the New York Post discovered the post and replied. Shore sent him a five-question sample exam via email which he passed with the assistance of a paramedic. He then agreed to take the test for Shore in exchange for $400.
When the parties met face to face, the reporter was given a fake Port Washington Fire Department ID showing his own face with Shore’s name, a $20 money order to cover the exam fee, admittance paperwork, No. 2 pencils, and $100 cash.
At that point, the reporter identified himself – prompting Shore to quickly depart the scene. No word on whether the scheme will result in criminal, disciplinary or EMS charges.
The NY Post article quotes an unidentified EMT commenting on the Craigslist aspect of the case: “Never have I heard of anyone doing anything that stupid.”
Obviously he hasn't spent much time on Fire Law Blog. Here we call that kind of stupidity…. Monday.
The second case arose back in 2010 when a former communications supervisor for East Baton Rouge Parish Emergency Medical Services was demoted because he left a group of Muslim women unattended momentarily outside the emergency communications center.
According to the lawsuit, the women came to the center on the ninth anniversary of the September 11th attacks bearing gifts of food and Qurans for the workers as a gesture of peace. Supervisor Jeremy Torres was demoted because he left the women, dressed in traditional Muslim clothing, momentarily in the public lobby of the center. The building also houses the Mayor's Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness, and leaving the women was considered to be a major breach of security.
Torres later resigned from the Parrish but filed suit alleging he was demoted based on racial and religious profiling, and thus discriminated against. Among the allegations:
On or about September 20, 2010, Petitioner received a Pre-Deprivation Hearing notice from Porter indicating she was considering demoting Petitioner for letting Muslims into the building.
Torres was in fact demoted for an alleged “security breach”. He also claims he was harassed and retaliated by coworkers and supervisors.
Petitioner contends that identifying the incident as a "high level security breach" is based on illegal racial and religious profiling. Weeks prior to the September 11, 2010 incident, deliveries were made to the MOHSEP building by other religious organizations, all Christian, and there were no issues of "security". Petitioner advised defendant that defendant's actions constituted illegal discrimination.
Here is a copy of the complaint originally filed in Louisiana state court. OriginalPetition
The case was removed to Federal District Court where it was settled. The terms of the settlement have not been released.
