One city employee was fired and three others suspended Tuesday during a special meeting of the Columbus City Council.
Public Works Director Mike Pratt was reportedly suspended for 20 days without pay while an unidentified employee at the Columbus Landfill was terminated. City officials declined comment, but sources indicate the disciplinary actions stemmed from improper or illegal dumping at the landfill.
Pratt also declined comment.
Two police officers also received 20-day suspensions without pay.
Lt. John Pevey and Officer Rick Higgins were suspended following a New Year”s Eve incident in which Higgins drove his patrol car into a flooded intersection on College Street, stalling the car and eventually damaging the engine and interior equipment.
Higgins” attorney, Rod Ray, stated his client had been found “grossly negligent with city issued equipment.”
“They said he drove into an intersection that he knew flooded. His defense was he knew it flooded in the past but they had done road work out there and it didn”t flood as much and he thought it was safe to go in,” said Ray. “He went in at a low rate of speed and as soon as the car cut off he didn”t try to keep cranking it because he knew it would cause more problems. He immediately called the supervisor and called the wrecker and an emergency wrecker. The water did not begin to rise into the vehicle until 10 minutes after he had been there.”
Pevey was charged with improperly documenting and reporting the incident to Chief Joseph St. John. He faced a possible demotion from lieutenant to sergeant in addition to the suspension, but maintained his rank.
The council reportedly split its vote 3-3 concerning Pevey”s suspension, with Mayor Robert Smith casting the tie-breaking vote to suspend Pevey. The vote was reportedly 5-1 in favor of suspending Higgins.
St. John said the decision to recommend suspension for the officers is a difficult part of his job.
“I”ve got to do what I”ve got to do,” he said. “I”ve got to keep us at the point where we”re doing what we need to be doing.”
A group of Pevey”s supporters, including fellow law enforcement officers, family and church friends, crowded the hall at the Municipal Complex while the officers” cases were heard by the council in executive session. Family of the 33-year CPD veteran said he had not been disciplined once in his career before a 3-day suspension in 2009 for tampering with city property.
Members of Pevey”s family insist he and St. John have been at odds since St. John”s arrival, leading to Pevey”s removal as head of the Metro Narcotics Unit and placement on patrol duty.
The four hearings took approximately five hours and 30 minutes to complete.
Neither Higgins nor Pevey had decided whether or not to appeal their suspensions as of this morning. A 20-day suspension for a police officer equates to six weeks of missed work. The missed time will cost Pevey and estimated $5,000.
Jason Browne was previously a reporter for The Dispatch.
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