Six Spalding County firefighters have been reprimanded for not stopping or reporting a coworker's videotaping of a crash scene where a young mother was killed.
Terrance Reid was fired in early November after he admitted he used his cell phone to make a video of Dayna Kempson-Schacht still inside her car that had moments earlier crashed into a tree. Reid shared that video with others and the pictures were posted on the Internet, eventually getting back to the 23-year-old woman’s parents.
The reprimands were issued based on a report by an Atlanta lawyer hired to investigate what happened late July 17 along U.S.19-41 where it bypasses Griffin and to review the sharing of the video in the days that followed.
Five of the firefighters received written reprimands and the sixth got a verbal reprimand.
At the same time, no decision has been made in regards to interim fire chief Kenny West, who was also criticized and blamed in a written by attorney-investigator, Christopher Balch.
Balch wrote in his report that West should be fired because he has “similar culpability in the eyes of the community for this horrific conduct, which resulted in such a reckless disregard for the humanity of the persons the fire department exists to serve… The gravity of the failures in leadership, supervision and training constitute a dereliction of duty by Chief West which justify his termination by Spalding County,” Balch wrote.
Interim assistant county manager Virginia Beams said Wednesday that Spalding officials were still “in conversations with his attorney” and no decision concerning West have been made.
West is on leave through the end of the year.
Supervisors Michael Windham and Buford Lee Slaughter were reprimanded for failing to perform their duties.
“You were aware that Terrance Reid used his personal cell phone to make a video of the accident,” was written in Windham’s reprimand. “You stated at the time that you thought this conduct was wrong, yet you did not say anything to any of Reid’s supervisors or to your supervisors. You also did not take any actions to see that the video was deleted from Reid’s phone.”
Windham was also punished for not asserting his authority over his subordinates.
The primary complaint against Slaughter was that he was unaware of what the fire fighters were doing and he did not take control at the accident scene.
“The firefighters on the scene stated that you were within the immediate vicinity of Terrance Reid when he took the video, making your denial of knowledge of it seem implausible,” interim county manager Tim Whalen wrote. “You must be constantly conscious of your obligation to supervise the men under your command and to be aware of their actions, especially on the scene of an accident …. Your failure to do so demonstrates a lack of understanding of your duties and responsibilities .. as well as a lack of vigilance or use of necessary observation skills. I have serious questions regarding your fitness for this position.”
The messages in the reprimands of firefighters Josh Tomlinson, Franklin McDowell and Eric Huggins were the same.
“You were aware that Terrance Reid used his personal cell phone to make a video of the accident, you admitted that you thought taking the video was wrong, yet you did not say anything to Mr. Reid or report his actions to any supervisor,” Whalen wrote. “Firefighters must depend and rely on one another in order to perform their jobs properly and safely. A critical part of building that foundation among firefighters is communication. You are encouraged to talk to others in your department when you see conduct from a fellow firefighter that you think should be changed or corrected.”
Firefighter Jarrison McBrayer received a verbal reprimand, according to a statement from the county. “Although he was not on the scene of the accident, he viewed the video later that night, thought it was wrong, but did not report it,” the county said in a statement.
About the Author
The Latest
Featured
