Article by Tammy Stables Battaglia at freep.com:
The Detroit Fire Department has suspended a 10-year veteran firefighter, who’s expected to be charged Friday with creating a false fire department report after leaving the scene of a hit-and-run accident.
Jonathan Britt, 30, of Detroit was put on leave without pay last week when the department learned a warrant had been signed Jan. 6, Fire Commissioner James Mack said today.
“Those are some serious charges to be leveled against someone with the fire department,” Mack said today. “We take those charges very seriously. When the indictment came out and we were notified, we placed him on that status.”
Britt could not be reached for comment today.
According to a warrant, Britt is accused of hitting an unoccupied car parked at Conant and East McNichols on May 2, 2009, then creating a false Detroit Fire Department report claiming he was in an accident elsewhere, to submit to his insurance company.
Britt is also accused of filing a false report with the Detroit Police Department, claiming he was in an accident at Linwood and Hazelwood that required firefighters from Engine 21 to respond, according to the warrant.
That engine company was deactivated – no firefighters were working that firehouse – the day of the accident, according to the fire department.
The warrant charges Britt with uttering and publishing, punishable by up to 14 years in jail; insurance fraud, punishable by 4 years in jail and up to $50,000 in fines; identity theft, punishable by up to 5 years in jail and $25,000 in fines; and false pretenses more than $1,000 but less that $20,000, punishable by up to 5 years in prison and $10,000 in fines.
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- Does anyone really think avoiding Charlie LeDuff & not answering his questions are good tactics for the Detroit Fire Department? Apparently the new commissioner does. – January 16, 2011
- 6 Detroit firefighters hurt when storefront brick walls collapse. Brother rescues brother at scene of rekindle. – August 13, 2010
- Paramedics testify the were disciplined for telling the truth about Detroit EMS to TV crew. Wisam Zeineh & Richard Cadoura say they are whistleblowers. Watch the story that got them in trouble. – November 16, 2010
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What an idiot. Talk about digging a freakin hole!
I’ll take his job if he is so set on giving it away…
Uh huh, and exactly how does what this idiot did fit into the following:
Mission Statement Updated On: Jan 22, 2007
The Detroit Fire Fighters Association, Local 344 (DFFA) was chartered with the International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF) on May 8, 1933. Since that time, and continuing today, our main mission is to gain fair, equitable, and just treatment of our members in all aspects of their employment; secure just compensation, assure equitable settlement of all grievances, and promote safety as our #1 issue.
The DFFA has a long and storied reputation that has taken itself through the courts, Act 312 arbitration, and individual arbitrations, to right injustices to our members and gain the same rights as others in our trade craft. We have faced repeated challenges on many of our most important issues and prevailed.
We are a family and act as such. We have many clubs, such as: the Clown Team, the Phoenix, the Gaelic Fire Brigade, the Band, Honor Guard, and others that serve the membership and the community we serve and protect. Our department is an athletic one and carries competitive teams in every sport. These groups raise many dollars that go directly to charities.
The DFFA Burn Fund, Inc., and the Detroit International Benefit Softball Tournament work all year to send burn-injured children to camp, and help the supporting hospitals possess the latest in equipment to cure in a less painful atmosphere.
As said earlier, the Detroit Fire Fighters Association’s #1 goal is Safety; for ourselves and the community we serve. We envision a better Fire Department and City of Detroit through our never ending and aggressive approach.
Each and every member of the Detroit Fire Fighters Association lives and breathes the ideal of being the best they can be, and continue to educate themselves to the newest technologies and education in order to be, and remain, one of the best and most aggressive fire departments in the world.
Funny, they claim to promote, “safety for themselves and the community they serve”, within the very mission statement they developed and proudly put on their website yet this knucklehead makes a mockery of himself, the department, his community and the fire service as a whole. Strong work.
To 343NeverForget, Why don’t you leave your union bashing off of here and stay on topic. If you want to leave a comment about the idiot Detroit fire fighter then do so, but don’t sit there behind your keyboard and lump the ENTIRE Detroit Fire Department into your generalizations. At this point, I don’t know who is the bigger idiot – you or him!
Everybody has their 10 percenters. Nice of you to bash 1200 guys for the stupidity of 1.