About 50 people, mostly firefighters, picket near Bay Village City Hall Monday evening to protest the city’s disciplinary action against Bay firefighter Ron Westmoreland. (West Life photo by Larry Bennet)

Suspension of Bay firefighter prompts protest
By Jeff Gallatin
Bay Village
Published Oct. 22, 2008

A decision by Mayor Debbie Sutherland’s administration officials to suspend a veteran firefighter who recently criticized city officials claiming their actions in cutting the Bay dive team were partially responsible for the death of a 7-year-old boy prompted a protest by other firefighters and citizens before and during Monday’s city council meeting.

After Sutherland notified 16-year-veteran firefighter and former dive team instructor Ron Westmoreland last week that the city plans to suspend him without pay for three 24-hour duty tours which would take place in a little over an actual calendar week, fire union officials and Westmoreland set up the protest outside city hall. It was attended by firefighters and family members from several cities and groups in addition to Bay Village, North Shore Afl-CIO Executive Secretary Harriet Applegate and civil rights attorney Avery Friedman.  It is the second time this year the city firefighters have protested a move by the administration by City Hall. In March, they protested Sutherland’s decision to cut the minimum staffing level for a department shift from six to five firefighters when a firefighter calls off.

Sutherland said in her official notice to Westmoreland about the city’s move that Westmoreland misrepresented the facts when he spoke at the Sept. 15 city council meeting about the boy’s death on Labor Day.

“During your address to council, you made numerous statements that were misstatements, fabrications, insulting and inciteful,” Sutherland said in the notice. “Some of these statements were inconsistent with each other…None of the statements are supported by the facts. No child died because there wasn’t a dive team there. Dive teams are oriented toward recovery rather than rescue. Your own statement alleging ‘that last year he would have been found in about 20 minutes by the Bay Village Dive Team’ reaffirms that the child would have already been dead. There is no proof whatsoever that this child drowned due to any actions of either the Bay Village Fire Department, City Administration or Council. The only way of preventing this death would have been if sufficient people were present when the child started to drown to rescue him.”

Sutherland’s notice alleges insubordination, malfeasance, and dishonesty.

Westmoreland said Monday prior to the council meeting that he stands by his statements.

“I’d say it again tomorrow,” he said. ”If we had our dive team there we could have gone in and gotten that boy. Now, we have a youngster dead.”

At the protest prior to the council meeting Monday night, the group of more than 50 people walked with signs prior to listening to several speeches.

Applegate said Bay city officials are infringing on several rights. “Not only is it a freedom of speech issue for an individual, it’s affecting residents with the change in services,” she said.

Sutherland said after the meeting she was not surprised by the protest or meeting. She said she would meet with Westmoreland and then consider a decision on the appeal of the suspension. If Westmoreland does not agree with her decision, the matter would got to arbitration.