Legal Lesson of the Month: Groping Chief Gets Firefighters Fired

EMS can be full of interesting and tricky legal scenarios. While you can’t have an attorney ride with you, it behooves providers to have at least some familiarity with the principles, precedents, and major issues of EMS law. To that end EMS World is pleased to offer the EMS Legal Lesson of the Month.

These cases are presented by prominent attorneys in the EMS field. This month’s comes from Larry Bennett, program chair for fire science and emergency management at the University of Cincinnati. Bennett’s department publishes a monthly Fire & EMS and Safety Law newsletter; subscribe to that by e-mailing Lawrence.bennett@uc.edu or read the latest edition here. Find this case and more in his newsletter archive. 

Case: Kyle Miltimore, Rebecca Boutin, David Kennedy v. Westfield (Mass.) Fire Commission

Decided: May 2021

Verdict: The Massachusetts Civil Service Commission held 5–0 that “Westfield Fire Commission has not shown, by a preponderance of the evidence, that there was just cause for terminating the appellants from their employment.”

Facts: The firefighters were terminated in December 2019 upon recommendation of an outside lawyer hired by the city. The case began with poor behavior by Deputy Patrick Egloff, who was later elevated to chief. Investigating attorney Dawn McDonald found:

“At some point during the day [out drinking after 2016 St. Patrick’s Day Parade], Deputy Egloff went up to [Ms. N] and grabbed her by the vagina. [Ms. N] immediately shoved him off and yelled at him, words to the effect that if he ever laid hands on her again, she would knock him out. He apologized, [Ms. N] accepted his apology, and everyone continued with the festivities and having a good time. Egloff admits to this incident and further states that a few days later he again called [Ms. N] to profusely apologize for his conduct. He is embarrassed, ashamed, and full of remorse at his behavior. [Ms. N] verifies this account and states that as far as she was concerned, it was one drunken incident, it was dealt with and over that day, and there was nothing further to apologize for.”

The three firefighters were fired following McDonald’s report, including Boutin for “incorrectly telling others that [Egloff] was going to be arrested for rape.” The report recommended Egloff not be promoted to chief for other reasons.

Boutin was given a 30-day suspension, but all three were returned to the payroll. Egloff was to face an independent investigation and professional discipline, and the Westfield Fire Department was ordered to develop and implement a comprehensive program to prevent and address sexual harassment. The appellants were allowed paid leave until this happened.

In a concurring opinion Commissioner Cynthia Ittleman found Boutin’s punishment too harsh: “While I concur with the majority’s opinion, I respectfully submit that Ms. Boutin’s modified discipline should be far less than 30 days. As was established by a preponderance of the evidence in this decision, Ms. Boutin told at least two people that then-Deputy Fire Chief Egloff was going to be arrested for rape when there was no basis for that statement. Ms. Boutin’s comments in that regard were wholly inappropriate and inexcusable, warranting suitable discipline. However, prior to making those comments, Ms. Boutin was also a victim of Chief Egloff’s reprehensible conduct, which was undoubtedly a cause of the stress for which she sought and obtained leave.”

Key quote: “McDonald’s conclusion that the appellants damaged the morale of the Westfield Fire Department is without merit and can be addressed summarily… Any purported poor morale in the department cannot be traced back exclusively to the appellants, but, rather, was attributable to many factors, including, in substantial part, the conduct of the individual who the Westfield Fire Commission has now chosen to lead the department—Patrick Egloff.”

Legal lesson: The admitted sexual misconduct by a senior fire officer is particularly shocking, and discipline must be imposed, but the firefighters here were not responsible for problems with department morale.