JEFF SHIELDS
Staff Writer
The Philadelphia Inquirer


A Philadelphia fire captain was suspended for 30 days without pay for "musing" in an e-mail about ways to get minority recruits around an application deadline. But Capt. Troy K. Gore's actions and subsequent punishment apparently won't stand in the way of a promotion and $8,000 pay increase.

Gore's suspension will cost him about $6,300 out of his $75,513 annual salary. It's the highest penalty Fire Commissioner Lloyd Ayers said he could give, short of firing.

Gore was placed on paid leave March 6 pending an investigation into a Feb. 28 message to fellow members of Club Valiants, the city organization representing African American firefighters.

His message sought log-in and identification information to get minority candidates into the application system after the Feb. 5 deadline for new recruits.

The city's Office of Inspector General determined that the system could not have been manipulated the way Gore suggested. Gore sent out an e-mail shortly after his first message, calling it a "bad idea."

Gore's suspension without pay ended April 27, and on Friday he was appointed acting chief of the department's Fourth Battalion, normally a precursor to a permanent promotion. The battalion chief position pays $83,591.

The promotion to acting chief was part of the normal process. Gore placed fourth out of 43 captains who took the fire battalion chief test in March, and was therefore among those in line for advancement into one of seven vacant battalion chief slots, Ayers said.

There are 55 battalion chiefs spread among 11 battalions plus training and administrative positions.

Everett Gillison, the city's deputy mayor for public safety, called the suspension "very severe" and said it fit Gore's transgression, which "is essentially musing out loud."

"You can think a lot of things, you can write a lot of things down," Gillison said, "but when the cold water of reality hits you, did you act on it?"

In his e-mail, Gore asked if any fellow Valiants had created "dummy" applications to test the new system. Each applicant is assigned a log-on and password, and Gore inquired whether those unused log-ons and passwords could be transferred to new candidates after the deadline.

Gore was suspended with pay on March 6, when Ayers was informed of the e-mail by The Inquirer. He was interviewed by a departmental investigator on March 8, and the investigation was turned over to the Inspector General's Office.

Inspector General Amy Kurland looked into whether Gore had or could have compromised the computerized application system. She determined that he did not and could not have. In an April 14 letter, Kurland did not recommend specific disciplinary action but deferred to Ayers.

Ayers then suspended Gore without pay between March 29 and April 27 for "off-duty misconduct." Ayers said Gore had not grieved the penalty through the firefighters union. Gore could not be reached for comment Tuesday.

Ayers called the e-mail "a serious mistake," but defended Gore as an officer.

"He's a sharp guy. The thought that he had, whatever it was, it doesn't match who he is," Ayers said. "The way we looked at it, it's just a mistake."

Ayers said he would weigh the disciplinary action when considering the permanent promotions, which require interviews and could take several months. He did acknowledge that those who are promoted to act in a position usually are promoted into it permanently.

Gore was a member of the department's recruitment team, whose mission was to reach out to the community for minority applicants. That team's mission ended with the passing of the Feb. 5 application deadline and has been disbanded, Ayers said.

Ayers said he did not foresee Gore being assigned to recruiting again.

"I don't think he's going - after that - to be placed in that position," Ayers said. "That wouldn't be a prudent decision."

Contact staff writer Jeff Shields at 215-854-4565 or jshields@phillynews.com.

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May 12, 2010