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| Fired Bakersfield firefighter awarded $100,000 Posted: 10 Mar 2009 04:28 PM PDT A jury declared last week that city officials wrongly fired a Bakersfield firefighter and now must pay him $100,000. But city officials were mum Monday on how they'll react. A change in policy? Discipline for the fire chief? The wronged man getting his job back? "You're asking questions I don't have any answers to," Councilman Harold Hanson said Monday. "I would be better able to discuss it with you after I've talked to counsel." Two other council members and the city manager also demurred, in part because the case isn't completely resolved. A judge has yet to rule on attorney's fees. And Bakersfield Fire Chief Ron Fraze did not return a call seeking comment. Robby Pratt was fired in 2007, supposedly for having twice been arrested for driving under the influence. He pled down in one case and the other was dismissed, said his lawyer in the two cases. But the jury declared the real reason Pratt was fired was that he was believed to be gay, and for reporting alleged misconduct by another firefighter. Richard Middlebrook was Pratt's attorney on three earlier cases — the two DUI charges and a fight where Pratt stepped up to defend a woman, according to Middlebrook. He said Pratt has, on one level, been vindicated, but on another he lost. "He can't even get his job back," Middlebrook said. "The $100,000 doesn't change a thing." The amount of money the jury awarded is just one year's worth of pay and benefits, Middlebrook said, and Pratt is unlikely to get hired on at any other fire department. Meanwhile, John Weber, the captain whose harassment of Pratt sparked the case, has taken a new job with the Manhattan Beach Fire Department, according to the city's human resources department. Pratt had gone through the city's administrative process to get his job back, but lost all those appeals. That doesn't sit well with Dennis Roe, a firefighter who testified on Pratt's behalf in the two-week trial. "Since he was wrongfully terminated, shouldn't he get his job back?" Roe said. He said he doesn't have high hopes that the verdict will be a wake-up call to fire department management. "The history of this department is nothing ever really changes," he said. Source: www.bakersfield.com - Link | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Esperanza wildfire - Penalty phase of Oyler trial interrupted Posted: 10 Mar 2009 03:07 PM PDT Testimony in the penalty phase of the Raymond Lee Oyler trial halted abruptly over a medical issue that apparently involves Oyler. The action took place after a morning of emotional and graphic testimony, including pictures, about the deaths of the five-member crew of U.S. Forest Service Engine 57. Testimony included extinguishing two still-burning bodies, including one with canteens, by the firefighters who discovered them. Firefighter family members rushed from the courtroom and several jurors were visibly crying. Court reconvened at 10:40 a.m. after a 20-minute break, and Oyler attorney Thomas K. Eckhardt immediately asked Riverside County Superior Court judge W. Charles Morgan for a chambers conference. Attorneys emerged 10 minutes later. Morgan called the 8-woman, 4-man jury back into court and dismissed them for the day. He then instructed his clerk to contact three doctors from an authorized list, seeing if they could set up an examination within 24 to 48 hours. Morgan disclosed nothing about Oyler or the need for the doctors. Attorneys on both sides declined comment. Morgan then told Oyler case attorneys to return to court at 2:30 today. Oyler did not stand with his council when jurors entered and departed the room in the late morning session. At one point, he appeared to be muttering to himself. He was dressed in a light brown shirt and no jacket. During the trial, he had been dressed in the full suit. Source: PE.com - Link | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Bonehead news: Cop arrests firefighter for protecting accident scene Posted: 10 Mar 2009 02:48 PM PDT The Boneheads attorney says he's disappointed and that his client's conduct was not malicious in any way. We can only hope the Bonehead is now working as a greeter at Wal-Mart This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Earthquake - Magnitude 3.1 - Chino Hills Posted: 10 Mar 2009 07:48 AM PDT  Earthquake Details
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