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Controversy involving Chief,
firefighters' union detailed
By Trish Cannon
Over the past few weeks, the Bryant City Council has had to consider a number of investigations into allegations against firefighters and Cox. A source close to the fire department stated that the apparent allegations surfaced after firefighters Chris Spruell and Battalion Chief Brian Watson were fired for falsifying their time sheets on one occasion in January and again in February. An anonymous source reported that Cox discovered that Watson filled in hours on a time sheet when he had not worked and Spruell failed to mark time when he did work. The source also noted the same falsified information was found on the duty roster. Upon noting the discrepancies, another anonymous source said that the HR Director became involved and opened an investigation. After it was confirmed that the firefighters had falsified their time sheets and then tried to cover it up, the source said a meeting was held between the City Attorney, the Mayor, the Fire Chief and the HR Director and a unanimous decision was made to terminate the men.
Bryant Mayor Larry Mitchell confirmed that he did fire Spruell and Watson based on the recommendation. The City handbook further states that any falsification of payroll records, such as underreporting or over reporting of working time, is prohibited and violations of the policy will subject an employee to disciplinary action up to and including termination.
A few weeks later, a source with the city stated that with morale low at the Fire Department, Cox spoke with the City Council and asked to speak with Spruell and Watson. Later that evening, he spoke with Bryant Mayor Larry Mitchell and the decision was made to reinstate the men and place them on a three-day suspension. Two sources stated that, after that, Cox took a leave of absence for medical reasons.
During the March 13 meeting of the Bryant City Council, firefighters Daniel Weger and Gary Seibel spoke before the council and announced that the local 4606 firefighters union took a vote of no confidence and asked that the Council remove Cox from the position of Fire Chief. During that meeting, the Council voted to change policy to appoint the Council and the HR Director as custodian of personnel records so that the Council could review the allegations made in an investigation against Cox. The personnel records that contained the allegations were then sealed and stored in an evidence locker at the police department until an opinion regarding the policy change could be upheld by the Attorney General.
The following week, after the Council had reviewed the allegations, a press release was issued from City Hall stating that the allegations against Cox could not be substantiated. The union was also verbally reprimanded during the Council meeting for leaving the City unmanned while the union members met to take the no confidence vote.
One of the sources close to the fire department expressed continued confidence in Cox and stated that they believed that attempts to have Cox fired was in retaliation for Watson and Spruell being terminated.
Cox stated that he could not discuss the events that led up to Watson and Spruell being terminated or reinstated but he stated that he learned of the no confidence vote via the newspaper. He also confirmed that he was off for several weeks due to medical issues and that he had been quite upset after Spruell and Watson were originally terminated because they had been with the department for many years and he had worked closely with both of them.
Cox also stated that once he learned of the allegations against him that he cooperated with the investigation. He added that some of the allegations against him were from events that occurred over six years ago and that one of the allegations against him was that he made several firefighters repair his roof. Cox recalled that he and his men were out on a call following an electrical storm in the vicinity of his home putting out a roof fire when his wife called him and reported that water was pouring in through one of the electrical outlets in their home. Cox said his men finished up on the call and he left and headed home. Once there, he said he was in the process of grabbing a ladder fearing that his own home had been struck by lightening and he was about to climb up on the roof when his crew came by to see about his emergency situation.
Cox stated that the men offered to help, just as they would have on any other roof fire call made to the City, and they removed a ladder from the truck. Cox said he and Weger went up to assess the damage. Once on the roof, Cox stated that he was able to determine that he had a cracked spot on his vent pipe. After he secured it with electrical tape, he and Weger climbed down and he and the firefighters left his wife to soak up the remaining water in his house with towels.
As Cox was about to return from medical leave he said he received word that several of his men had filed additional complaints with Alderman Rick Meyer alleging that Cox was suicidal and they feared for their lives because Cox carried a City-issued firearm. Allegations from Spruell stated that with, "Chief Cox having a city-issued handgun and being known to carry it regularly, with his self-claimed mental situation and the majority fire department members publicly not supporting him as fire chief any longer, I am concerned for my safety as well as all 43 firefighters that work for the City. I personally have a fear of going to work and the possibility of a disgruntled chief causing harm to me and/or any of my fellow firefighters."
