DRUGS PROMPT ACTIONS AT HFD

Allegations Of Drug Use Has Ledto Discipline Of Four Firefighters

HUNTINGTON -- During the past two years, four Huntington firefighters
have been suspended without pay or opted to retire amid allegations of
drug use or tampering with drug tests, according to court documents.

The information was revealed in a 137-page transcript of a July 2
Fireman's Civil Service Commission hearing that was filed last week in
Cabell County Circuit Court. The transcript was submitted as part of
the city of Huntington's appeal to the Civil Service Commission's
ruling to suspend Lt. Gary Turner 180 days without pay for tampering
with a drug test.

In the transcript, Fire Chief Greg Fuller said under oath that three
Huntington firefighters, including Turner, have been suspended without
pay this year.

He also said in the transcript that he gave another firefighter the
option to resign or retire last year after the firefighter's
supervisor reported that he was smoking marijuana at a fire station
while on duty. The firefighter, who is not named, opted to retire,
Fuller said.

Though Fuller did not specify in the transcript why the firefighters
suspended this year were disciplined, he did indicate that all of the
suspensions are drug-related.

Fuller declined to comment Tuesday on the suspensions and retirement.
Mayor David Felinton also refused to comment on the matter.

Assistant city attorney Scott McClure confirmed that all of the
suspensions are drug-related. Two of the suspensions involve tampering
with drug tests, while the other involves a firefighter who was
arrested earlier this year on misdemeanor drug charges, he said.

As previously reported, Huntington police arrested firefighter Michael
David Giannini, 28, on April 10 in the 1700 block of 8th Avenue for
possession of crack cocaine.

According to the report, police found 0.3 grams of crack cocaine in
Giannini 's truck after police observed him swerving into oncoming
traffic. That amount has a street value of about $30, according to the
report.

Giannini has since pleaded not guilty to the charge. A trial has been
scheduled for 9 a.m. Dec. 3 in Cabell County Magistrate Court.

After his arrest, Giannini was suspended without pay, pending the
outcome of a Fireman's Civil Service Commission hearing. The
commission is expected to rule on the matter Friday, McClure said.

McClure said another firefighter was suspended without pay earlier
this year after drug-test results showed his urine sample had been
adulterated, McClure said.

McClure declined to name the firefighter, but said he already has
appeared before the Civil Service Commission.

In Turner's case, he also was suspended without pay for tampering with
a drug test, McClure said. Court documents show that Turner admitted
to a Fire Department investigative board and to the Fireman's Civil
Service Commission that he added tap water to his urine sample.

The internal investigative board, consisting of three firefighters,
ruled in May that Turner was guilty of tampering with his drug test.
Two of the firefighters recommended Turner be fired while another
supported reinstatement after a suspension.

The board's ruling prompted Turner to appeal his case to the Fireman's
Civil Service Commission.

Turner took his drug test March 31 at the Huntington office of
Examination Management Services, Inc., a company that conducts random
drug tests of city employees on a monthly basis. The city randomly
tests police officers, firefighters and employees whose job requires a
commercial driver's license, among others.

In the transcript of Turner's civil service hearing, Mike Day, a
regional manager for EMSI, said that adding tap water to a urine
sample can dilute the specimen and mask drug use.

Turner, who represented himself at the hearing, said in the transcript
that he took a hair-follicle drug test at EMSI two weeks after his
initial test. The test came back negative, he said.

Day, however, said under oath that hair-follicle tests have proven to
be less accurate than urine samples.

Turner also said in the transcript that the Fire Department has failed
to follow the city's zero-tolerance drug policy on several other occasions.

In one case, a firefighter called in sick upon learning that he would
have to take a drug test that day, Turner said. The transcript does
not clarify whether the firefighter ever took the drug test.

"Out of the dozens of drug tests that were successfully administered,
we did mess that one up, I believe," Fuller said in the transcript.

Turner also questioned during the hearing whether Fuller has the right
to ask firefighters to resign or retire to avoid suspensions and
possible terminations. He cited a provision of the city's drug policy
that says employees are required to take a drug test when their
supervisors witness behavior that is commonly attributed to substance
abuse.

"We err compassionately on the side of the employee, and we always
extend the option to retire if they have enough time to retire,"
Fuller said in the transcript. "Right or wrong, this is what we do. If
they do not (qualify for retirement), we give the option to resign."

Fuller went on to say in the transcript that Turner was given an
option to resign or retire, but opted to appeal his suspension to the
Civil Service Commission.

On Aug. 10, the Fireman's Civil Service Commission ruled that Turner
be suspended 180 days without pay. Firing Turner would be too harsh,
the ruling said.

"A reduction in rank is not appropriate under the circumstances," the
ruling said. "Further, the commission finds that the administration of
the Huntington Fire Department be granted authority to drug/alcohol
test Lt. Gary Turner for one year following the date of entry of this
ruling at its discretion."

The city is appealing the ruling, because the commission overstepped
its duties, McClure said.

"The Fire Civil Service Commission should not substitute its judgment
for the city administration's when it comes to matters of disciplining
personnel," McClure said. "They're only supposed to rule whether there
is just cause for the city to suspend or terminate an employee."

A trial date for the appeal has not been scheduled, McClure said.