Former Omaha union president found not guilty in prostitution sting. Darrren Bates, a Council Bluffs councilman, is appealing his firing from FD.
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From the AP:
A man who lost his job as an Omaha fire captain after being arrested in a prostition sting has been found not guilty.
Darren Bates was charged with soliciting a prostitute following the Feb. 3 incident at a Council Bluffs, Iowa, hotel. On Friday, a Pottawattamie County Associate District Court jury found him not guilty.
Bates, who is a Council Bluffs city councilman, was fired from the fire department in March. He’s appealing that decision.
Bates has also been removed from his position with the Omaha Fire Union.
Omaha.com’s Jason Kuiper has more on the effort by Bates to get his job back. Here are excerpts:
He is contesting the loss of his $82,467-a-year job as an Omaha fire captain. Bates is seeking arbitration against the City of Omaha, which fired him following the incident. He’d also given up his position as president of the firefighters union.
His acquittal does not automatically mean he is reinstated as a firefighter. Joe Gudenrath, chief of staff to Mayor Mike Fahey, said Bates’ actions after he left the Bluffs hotel room also factored into the city’s decision to fire him.
After he was cited, Bates did not show up for work or contact fire officials for 16 days, according to officials with the city and Fire Department, who said they repeatedly and unsuccessfully tried to contact Bates.
The firefighters’ union contract says any unauthorized absence of an employee from duty shall be deemed an absence without pay and may be grounds for disciplinary action.
“The firing wasn’t just for his actions that day,” Gudenrath said. “It also was for his actions during the entire internal affairs process.”
