Fire Law Blog Fire Service and Public Safety Legal Issues Blog by Curt Varone
An Ohio firefighter paramedic who was terminated for taking illegal drugs from an incident scene and later destroying them in 2010, has been ordered reinstated by an arbitrator. North Royalton firefighter Richard Urich responded to the scene of a heroin overdose, and was observed by coworkers to have taken drugs from the scene. Urich claims that he flushed some of the drugs down the toilet and took the rest to the hospital. Additional drugs were discovered in the rescue squad vehicle. He said was acting out of concern for the safety of a child at the scene.
Following an internal investigation Urich was terminated. He was charged with drug possession and tampering with evidence, but ended up pleading guilty to obstruction of justice.
The firefighters’ union grieved Urich’s termination and on February 16, 2012 an arbitrator concluded that while there was significant evidence to support the discipline, termination was too severe. The ruling ordered Urich reinstated without backpay.
The arbitrator’s decision is not sitting well with city officials, who have decided to appeal the ruling to Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas. City Law Director Tom Kelly was quoted extensively in The Post:
“The fact of the matter is that the arbitrator found that this individual had lied repeatedly in a variety of circumstances to a variety of people. Nonetheless, he ordered him back to his job. We are appalled.”
“I personally believe the arbitrator restored his employment largely as a matter of empathy. From our perspective, that’s not a good enough reason to reinstate someone to a position of trust.”
“In our opinion, the conduct this man engaged in is egregious, and we do not believe he should ever work in public service again.”
