The following press release came in this morning from the Hartford Fire Department:
On January 23,
2015 at 1:30 this morning, The Hartford Fire Department received notification
from the Connecticut State Police Troop E in Montville that Firefighter Cinque
Scott was arrested on charges of Failure to Drive Right, Operating under a
Suspended License and Driving under the Influence.
Firefighter
Scott has been a member of the Hartford Fire Department since 2000 and at the
time of this incident, was on Administrative Leave with Pay.
Effective
immediately, Firefighter Scott has been placed on Administrative Leave with
No-Pay pending further investigation.
There seems to be a pattern of alcohol and drug abuse within the Hartford Fire Department that needs to be addressed and dealt with. I am not sure if their EAP (Employee Assistance Program ) is operational, but it needs to be looked at so that people in a high stress occupation can turn somewhere for help other than alcohol or drugs.
I am also wondering what type of follow up is done to make sure employees have a valid drivers license. According to the release , Scott's license was under suspension at the time of his arrest. Anyone driving a City vehicle or potentially operating a City vehicle in any department should have the validity of their license checked regularly. Just imagine the liability to the City of someone crashing a Fire Truck or DPW Vehicle without a license.
You might recall a few years ago when the driver for Mayor Perez was found to have a suspended license , I believe after an accident with the Mayor's City car . At the time no one had checked his license.
It just seems sad that a respected organization is being embarrassed regularly now by the poor decision making of its members and reflecting on all when it is in reality a very few that need to be addressed At least it keeps their PIO busy