Connecticut Firefighter Charged With Larceny for Sick Leave Usage
A volunteer firefighter in Plainville, Connecticut was charged earlier this year with larceny for using sick leave from his full time job as a police dispatcher in Southington. Stephen Chapman is...
View ArticleThe Right Of Firefighters To Apprehend Dangerous Drivers
Two cases in the news lately have raised the controversial issue of whether firefighters have the right to use their red lights and siren to stop motorists who are driving erratically. The first case...
View ArticleCalifornia Police Fire Wars Arrest and South Carolina Overtime
Its been a busy week fire law wise with a number of stories breaking that are certainly of great interest. So many cases…. so little time…. Let’s start with the newest police fire wars case, this one...
View ArticleMore Police Fire Wars – South Carolina
There has been yet another police-fire wars incident, this time in South Carolina, and this time two firefighters ended up in jail. That makes three police-fire war cases in the news in the past 2...
View ArticleFirst Amendment Prevails in Minnesota Video Arrest
A Minnesota man who was arrested in 2012 for videotaping an EMS crew treating a patient, has been acquitted by a Ramsey County jury.
View ArticleDash Cam Video of South Carolina Police Fire War
The dash-cam video depicting the altercation between two West Chester firefighters and Chester County Sheriff Alex Underwood and his deputies has been released. Recall we discussed the details of the...
View ArticleCalifornia Firefighter Files Claim Over Highway Arrest
A California firefighter who was arrested at the scene of a motor vehicle accident last month because he did not move his engine when requested by California Highway Patrol (CHiPs) has filed an...
View ArticleIts About Time: Police Officer Investigated for Arresting Firefighter
The Louisiana State Fire Marshal’s office has launched an investigation into the arrest of a volunteer firefighter by a local police officer. On March 24, 2014, the firefighter was attending to a sick...
View ArticleFirefighters and Fourth Amendment Seizure Law
Today’s burning question: When fire and EMS personnel render aid to a person whose capacity appears to be diminished, and we do not allow the person to decline aid and leave the scene, can we be guilty...
View ArticleSuffolk County Settles First Amendment Filming Arrest Suit
A photographer who was arrested by a Suffolk County Police Sergeant in 2011 because he was filming police activity has agreed to accept $200,000 to settle his civil rights suit. Phillip Datz, a...
View ArticleFire Law Podcast – Episode 3: California Police Fire Wars
On February 4, 2014, Chula Vista firefighter Jacob Gregoire was arrested by a California Highway Patrol officer at the scene of a roll over on Interstate 805. Curt Varone and FF Gregoire’s attorney,...
View ArticleBusy Fire Law Week
Last week was a busy one legally for the fire service, and as often happens, a number of important cases escaped our attention – including several we have been following. In Kansas City, Missouri, the...
View ArticleTexas Suit Alleges Military Bootcamp Style Training Caused Fatal Heat Stroke
The family of a Texas firefighter who died while undergoing advance training characterized as “a fraternity-style hazing ritual [intended] to sort out which firefighters were ‘tough’ enough” has filed...
View ArticlePolice Fire Wars in Louisiana AGAIN
There’s been another incident involving a police officer arresting a firefighter over a line of duty action, this time in Winnfield, Louisiana because the officer did not like where a fire truck was...
View ArticleChicago Firefighter One Step Closer to Civil Vindication in Police Corruption...
A Chicago firefighter who was the victim of outrageous police misconduct by a group of corrupt officers that included threats to plant evidence against him and get him fired, has passed an important...
View ArticleCode Enforcement Failure Results in Charges and Wrongful Death Suit
A fire in Grand Isle, Louisiana in 2012, that killed two people has led to criminal charges against a fire inspector and a civil suit that names the inspector and the state fire marshal’s office.
View ArticlePhoenix Sued for Wrongful Arrest in Arson Case
An innocent man who spent 14 months in jail on arson charges has filed suit against the city of Phoenix and the arson investigators who accused him of setting the fire. Carl Vincent Ball Caples filed...
View ArticlePolice Fire Wars in Georgia
There’s been another volley fired in the ongoing Police Fire Wars, this time in Georgia. The fire chief for the City of Rincon was responding to a vehicle accident involving a gasoline tanker on April...
View ArticleChattanooga Fire Sued for Civil Rights Violation Following Wrongful Arrest
A Tennessee man who was arrested last January in New Orleans, Louisiana as he was boarding a cruise ship for a vacation, is suing the Chattanooga Fire Department, Fire Chief Kelvin Lamar Flint,...
View ArticleSouth Carolina Fire Departments Sued Over Post-Accident Altercation
A woman and her minor son are suing two South Carolina fire departments over a post-accident altercation that led to the mother and son being arrested. Julia Hyman and her son, identified in court...
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