Muncie Captain Sues Claiming He Was Improperly Denied Promotion

The Muncie, Indiana fire captain at the center of a testing scandal has filed suit claiming he was wrongfully passed over for promotion to battalion chief. Captain Troy Dulaney filed suit naming the City of Muncie, the Muncie Fire Department, the Muncie Merit Commission, the current fire chief and the former fire chief as defendants.

The suit was filed in US District Court for the Southern District of Indiana alleging a violation of Captain Dulaney’s due process rights under the Fourteenth Amendment and the Indiana State Constitution. He claims that both his placement on inactive status and the failure to promote his constituted deprivations of property without due process.

The testing scandal resulted in three separate investigations into possible cheating on certification exams. The investigations involved the Indiana Department of Homeland Security’s Emergency Medical Services, the Indiana State Fire Marshal, and the National Registry of Emergency Medical Technicians.

The Indiana Board of Firefighter Personnel Standards and Education revoked all of Captain Dulaney’s firefighting certifications and the Indiana Department of Homeland Security’s EMS Division revoked all of his EMS certifications, rendering him unemployable for a firefighter, medic, or instructor. Captain Dulaney appealed the sanctions arguing he did not knowingly violate any laws or regulations; was simply trying to help his students prepare for state and national exams; that the allegations were politically motivated by those who were trying to keep him from being promoted; and the state investigators ignored relevant evidence supporting his claims. He admitted that he collected questions from those who took state exams, and shared them with students, but denied he knew that was prohibited.

Last year, an administrative law judge reversed the harsh disciplinary sanctions. In the mean time, Captain Dulaney came out first on the Battalion Chief’s promotional list. Quoting from the complaint:

• Per Merit Commission Rule 8(XII)(A): “Promotion appointments shall be governed by the Commission Rules and Procedures in effect thirty (30) days prior to the date the vacancy occurs.”
• Per the Merit Commission Rule 8(X)(A), “except in extremely unusual cases, the Commission concurrence will be only for that member with the highest composite score.”
• On or about November 9, 2023, the Promotional List, with Dulaney in the top spot, was certified by the Merit Commission.
• On or about December 25, 2023, the retiring battalion chief had his last day on the floor, leaving the second battalion chief position vacant.
• On or about July 9, 2024, the same retiring battalion chief began taking his pension, meaning he was no longer employed with Muncie Fire.
• No promotion was announced during the vacancy.
• Per merit rules, Chief Burford was given the top three names on the battalion chief promotional list.
• The Merit Commission then read off three names, with the first name on the list being Troy Dulaney.
• Chief Burford stated that he had received letters from the other two candidates (#2 and #3 on the overall list) preemptively declining the promotion.
• That left only Captain Dulaney remaining in the top three.
• The Merit Commission then read off a second list of three names of candidates.
• Again, Troy Dulaney was at the head of the list. The other two names were of those who tested #5 and #6 on the overall list.
• Both Muncie City Ordinance and Merit Commission Rules allow for only one list of three names to be presented to the Fire Chief and do not provide a mechanism for requesting additional names as had been provided.
• Without having provided any explanation or findings orally or in writing, Chief Burford then requested the Merit Commission to promote the second candidate listed on the second list of names provided (#5 on the overall list).
• The Merit Commission accepted Chief Burford’s promotion recommendation by roll call vote.

Here is a copy of the complaint: