News

Iowa Fire Captain`s Firing Upheld

Rick Smith

01/06/2015

Jan. 06--CEDAR RAPIDS -- Fire Chief Mark English was correct to terminate Tom Mackey, a veteran fire captain, in 2013, and the city's Civil Service Commission was correct to uphold the action, a Linn County District Court judge concluded.

Mackey's actions in administering drugs to a patient during a paramedic call led to his firing, and District Judge Sean McPartland concluded Mackey's behavior constituted "misconduct detrimental to the public interest."

In his decision, McPartland said Mackey's misconduct "greatly increased the risk of a potentially poor outcome" for the patient.

Cedar Rapids attorney Bill Roemerman, who represented Mackey, said Monday he and Mackey are reviewing the judge's ruling. Mackey has 30 days to appeal to the Iowa Supreme Court, Roemerman said.

Mackey's undoing came after he and two other Cedar Rapids firefighters under his command were called to MercyCare North about 2 p.m. on June 15, 2013, to help a hysterical female patient.

Mackey, at the time a 28-year veteran of the department, an EMT instructor and part-time ambulance director for Tipton, decided the woman needed treatment for pain and behavioral issues. He administered Valium, Zofran and morphine in the course of six or seven minutes while awaiting Area Ambulance.

The department, the Civil Service Commission and McPartland concluded Mackey failed to follow the department's protocol in administering the drugs, and in doing so, without taking vital signs.

The woman was treated at a hospital and released without incident.

A regular review of the incident as part of the department's Continuous Quality Improvement Program raised concerns, which prompted a department commander to consult with the department's medical director, Dr. Brad Wisnousky, an emergency room doctor. Wisnousky indefinitely suspended Mackey's ability to operate as an emergency medical provider, and English fired him.

Mackey appealed to the Cedar Rapids Civil Service Commission, which upheld the firing in October 2013. Mackey appealed to the Linn County District Court. A trial, followed by the filing of briefs, was completed in July.

In his ruling, McPartland states Mackey's rights would have been better protected if the Fire Department had recorded two in-house interviews with him to discuss the incident before his firing. The judge used Mackey's account of those meetings in his analysis.

However, the judge said Mackey put the patient at "unreasonable risk" even if the outcome did not result in tragedy.

Mackey, 56, no longer heads the Tipton Ambulance Service. The City Council changed the job from part-time to full- time and selected a director other than Mackey last summer, Tipton city officials said Monday.