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Firefighter Arrested on Suspicion of Driving Fire Truck Drunk
This department is about 2 hours south of me, what a shame :(
A firefighter for the Lake-Missaukee Fire Department was arrested for driving a fire truck while drunk.
A deputy arrested Doug Shaw while he was pulling the fire truck into the fire barn driveway on December 27th. He was returning from a fire call.
"We got a call from the assistant fire chief of the Lake-Missaukee Fire Department that he believed one of their firefighters was intoxicated and riding one of their trucks," Missaukee County Sheriff Jim Bosscher told 9 & 10 News.
Shaw has since pleaded "not guilty" to misdemeanor drunk driving. He is due back in court on January 26th.
The arrest raises questions regarding the Lake-Missaukee Fire Department. The department's board held a special meeting to look into how a possibly drunk firefighter was allowed to drive a fire truck from the scene of a fire.
9 & 10 News obtained an audio recording of the special meeting held on December 30th to discuss the incident. The recording reveals mistrust between the fire department and some fire board members over the incident -- and mistrust over issues in the past. At times the meeting becomes dysfunctional.
A board member is heard saying "we're here to fact find and evidently we're not going to have the cooperation. So there's no sense in continuing. I'm not going to sit here all night."
Fire Chief Richard Bradley answered few questions in the meeting on advice of an attorney.
Deputy Fire Chief Keith Lounsbery told the board that he was too busy keeping an eye on his firefighters to be aware of a possibly intoxicated firefighter. But he says he called police as soon as it was suggested that Shaw might be drunk.
"It was reported to me and I reported it to the Sheriff's Department that a crime may be occurring," Lounsbery told the board.
The meeting does not address why a firefighter was allowed to drive a fire truck by himself, which is usually against fire department guidelines.
The board and fire department will have a regular scheduled meeting Tuesday evening at 7:00. 9 & 10 News will be there and have continuing coverage on 9 & 10 News at 11.
9 & 10's Ted Haller and Photojournalist Stephanie Adkins report on the arrest of the firefighter.
http://www.9and10news.com/category/story/?id=147588
A firefighter for the Lake-Missaukee Fire Department was arrested for driving a fire truck while drunk.
A deputy arrested Doug Shaw while he was pulling the fire truck into the fire barn driveway on December 27th. He was returning from a fire call.
"We got a call from the assistant fire chief of the Lake-Missaukee Fire Department that he believed one of their firefighters was intoxicated and riding one of their trucks," Missaukee County Sheriff Jim Bosscher told 9 & 10 News.
Shaw has since pleaded "not guilty" to misdemeanor drunk driving. He is due back in court on January 26th.
The arrest raises questions regarding the Lake-Missaukee Fire Department. The department's board held a special meeting to look into how a possibly drunk firefighter was allowed to drive a fire truck from the scene of a fire.
9 & 10 News obtained an audio recording of the special meeting held on December 30th to discuss the incident. The recording reveals mistrust between the fire department and some fire board members over the incident -- and mistrust over issues in the past. At times the meeting becomes dysfunctional.
A board member is heard saying "we're here to fact find and evidently we're not going to have the cooperation. So there's no sense in continuing. I'm not going to sit here all night."
Fire Chief Richard Bradley answered few questions in the meeting on advice of an attorney.
Deputy Fire Chief Keith Lounsbery told the board that he was too busy keeping an eye on his firefighters to be aware of a possibly intoxicated firefighter. But he says he called police as soon as it was suggested that Shaw might be drunk.
"It was reported to me and I reported it to the Sheriff's Department that a crime may be occurring," Lounsbery told the board.
The meeting does not address why a firefighter was allowed to drive a fire truck by himself, which is usually against fire department guidelines.
The board and fire department will have a regular scheduled meeting Tuesday evening at 7:00. 9 & 10 News will be there and have continuing coverage on 9 & 10 News at 11.
9 & 10's Ted Haller and Photojournalist Stephanie Adkins report on the arrest of the firefighter.
http://www.9and10news.com/category/story/?id=147588
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by HAUS on
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How could someone not notice the driver was drunk, they have their whole squad and theres gotta be someone there to tell him that he couldnt drive because he was intoxicated .. I just don't get it....
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Permalink Reply by FETC on
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West Philly is spot on here.
In some states who require a commercial drivers license, the DWI level is half compared to average joe. Example Average Joe driving his Hyundau can belt them down and be held accountable at the .08 level for legal intoxication, but with a CDL it is actually .04
I think some sick people with a CDL taking some over the counter meds could be considered over the limit.
What is troublesome is the AC's comments, no time to look into the allegation so he called the PD. Must be a great place to work... looking out for our own?
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Permalink Reply by Paul Montpetit on
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Just the kind of press we need......What was he even doing at the Fire scene if he was drunk...? Paul
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Permalink Reply by Chief 29 on
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I agree with you. There had to be a prior problem that the media is leaving out for the Chief to react by calling the cops rather than deal with it himself.
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Permalink Reply by T.J. on
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"Deputy Fire Chief Lounsbery also gave us some more details of what he says happened the night of the arrest. He says he sent the truck back to the station, and it was only after Shaw drove away that the deputy chief was told Shaw might be drunk. That's when he says he called police."
He admits to it right here, and he's telling me that there is no way he could stop Shaw from driving the truck but instead he allows him to continue on to the station.
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Permalink Reply by Denise Co 29 on
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WOW !!!!!! All I have to say is you know you did wrong now pay the consequences. He knew he was not allowed to drive the rig drunk, he knew he should not be on a call drunk, but when a person is drunk they make poor decisions and just don't give a shit about anything. Most of the time your Chief is going to trust you to follow the rules and if you break them well pay the price. That Chief was doing his job, making sure everything was running smoothly and he should not have to check to see if any of his men are drunk . This is a trust issue and believing your men are going to follow the rules. Why shouldn't he have called the cops ? What if he would have killed an innocent family driving home that evening ? We all know the DUI laws.
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Was there no radio in the truck for the Chief to contact him and instruct him to stop? There had to be more to it for the Chief to react by calling the cops rather than dealing with it in house. Even though this was a bad situation and should never have happened things like this bring a lot of negative publicity to any and all fire companies. Also I don't agree with personal vendettas in the line of duty. We are to become a team and come together as one to accomplish a common goal when are on a call and you can not do that effectively if you don't keep your emotions in check .
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I could not agree with you more, I'm only guessing that there'd be a radio in the truck or he'd have a pager on him.
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Permalink Reply by Art "ChiefReason" Goodrich on
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From thesecretlist: FF DUI WHILE DRIVING RESPONDING FIRE APPARATUS IN MICHIGAN:
A Missaukee County (MI) Firefighter has been suspended...charged with driving a
fire apparatus while drunk. FF Doug Shaw, 49, a 20 year member of the Lake Missaukee
FD's drunk driving charges follow a December 27 incident when cops say FF Shaw showed
up intoxicated to the scene of a fire. The FD says Shaw will remain suspended until
his case is resolved.
I believe what we now have here is "suspended until proven innocent".
IF and I said IF, the charges are proven, then swift and severe corrective measures need to be taken.
But I have a REAL problem with the way it was handled. In fact; it was mutt handled.
TCSS.
Art
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Permalink Reply by Dennis Brown on
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Well that is a hard blow to the department but i think its a shame that they got the news involved with this and im glad this ff did not get into a MVA.with the truck
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WOW!!!! I would have to agree on the question about there being a radio on the truck and the Asst. Chief. We have a zero tolerance policy. Even if you've had a sip of alcohol when the pager goes off you are not to show up.
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