Co-Workers Were Warned About Firefighter

OFFICIALS SAY THEY LACKED CAUSE FOR DRUG TESTING

As much as two months before a 44-year-old Metro firefighter died after
becoming ill at a fire hall, Nashville fire officials received the first of
two warnings that they believed the firefighter might be involved with
illegal drugs, two fire department reports show.

But the firefighter, Richard Majors, was not asked to submit to a drug
test, and he died at a hospital after complaining of respiratory distress
and coughing at his fire hall on Jan. 11. An autopsy is pending.

Fire officials said drug tests were not required because "it was determined
that no legal basis existed to perform the tests under the provisions of
the existing Metro policy on suspicion-based drug testing."

A special report, written by acting District Chief Willie Barnes on Nov.
27, documented how a member of the fire hall on Centennial Boulevard had
complained that he saw a "crack pipe laying on top" of Majors' clothes bag.
The report also said the employee had complained to Barnes that "EMS
personnel had also seen evidence of cocaine material in (Majors') bag."
Also, Barnes documented the employee's claim that "around pay day a black
car pulls in back of fire hall around 10 to 10:30 at night and (Majors)
meets him out there and brings something in his hands."

An earlier report, dated Nov. 3 and written by one of Majors' co-workers at
the Centennial Boulevard fire hall, alleged he saw a "brown stained glass
pipe in the top of a duffel bag" and the pipe was gone after Majors came in
the room.

The Nashville Fire Department said one of its district chiefs discarded a
pipe and powdery substance cleared from Majors' belongings after he died
Jan. 11.

The Fire Department leveled internal charges against District Chief Don
Ridley on Monday for throwing away the material.

Ridley, according to Metro police, admitted to throwing away Majors' drug
pipe but said he did so to spare the dead man's family any embarrassment.

Ridley could be suspended without pay, demoted or terminated if found
guilty of conduct unbecoming a Metro employee, according to a charge letter
written by Fire Chief Stephen Halford.

Ridley also is accused of behavior that reflects discredit upon himself and
the department.

He has been on paid administrative leave since Jan. 14.

Ridley was demoted in the Fire Department in 1995 for possession of
marijuana, his record shows.

Ridley told fire officials he brought marijuana from his house to the fire
training academy, where he worked at the time, the personnel record shows.

Ridley said he had been advised not to speak to the media and had no comment.

Assistant Fire Chief Kim Lawson said the Fire Department began preparing
internal charges against Majors after the request for a suspicion-based
drug test was denied by the Metro Legal Department.

However, Karl Dean, Metro director of law, said his office had denied the
request because he was never given the special reports or all the facts.

"The advice we give is only as good as the information we receive. ... We
were given information that was much different and much later in time."

Dean said his office never saw the two special reports until Tuesday, when
the Fire Department asked him whether he thought they should be considered
public record.

He also said Metro Legal was contacted by Metro Personnel around Jan. 3
about testing Majors, two months after the first special report was filed.

Metro Legal, he said, was told there was a rumor of drug paraphernalia;
therefore, it didn't meet the standard of ordering a suspicion-based drug test.

Metro's substance abuse policy states "tests are ordered when trained
supervisor observes and documents appearance, behavior, speech or body
odors of an employee which are characteristic of the use of alcohol or
controlled substances."

Dean would not say whether his office would have ruled that Majors should
be tested. He did say he would have wanted to talk to the men who wrote the
reports.

Lawson said Halford notified Metro Human Resources about Majors around
Christmas and that he went over the reports orally with someone from that
office.