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Posted by: DeputyFife

Published: March 31, 2008 11:30 pm ShareThisPrintThis
Peabody's dozing dispatcher to get his job back
By Stacie N. Galang
Staff writer


PEABODY — The three-year legal battle to keep sacked firefighter John Brophy Jr. from returning to the Fire Department ended quietly with a decision by the state appeals court.
The city is now negotiating Brophy's reinstatement, Mayor Michael Bonfanti confirmed yesterday.
The court's March 19 decision is the latest to favor Brophy, who was fired in May 2005 after a series of infractions that culminated with his sleeping through a 911 call. The panel upheld arbitrator Robert O'Brien's earlier ruling, which deemed the city's decision to fire Brophy too harsh.
Bonfanti said he had not seen an official decision and deferred additional questions to Assistant City Solicitor Daniel Cocuzzo, who could not be reached yesterday afternoon.
Brophy's former attorney, Neil Rossman, said previously his client would be entitled to back pay, but it was unclear as of yesterday what, if any, salary the firefighter might receive.
His current lawyer, Paul T. Hynes, refused to comment yesterday. A woman answering the phone at his law office said it is not Hynes' policy to speak with the press.
Messages left for Brophy yesterday were not returned by press time.
But James Lendall, president of the firefighters union, welcomed an end to the legal battles.
"I hope this is it," Lendall said. "I hope this is the end of it. It's been three years."
Bonfanti fired Brophy after he slept through a March 2005 emergency call from the father of a 6-month-old with breathing troubles. Brophy slept through 15 calls from the police that night, and officers had to sound their sirens and pound on the fire station's locked doors to rouse him. The baby survived.
The missed call was not the firefighter's first infraction. He had a physical altercation with a Peabody fire captain and had failed a drug test, which was eventually tossed out because the testing method had not been agreed upon by the union.
Brophy fought his termination with the arbitrator and won. When the city challenged the arbitrator's ruling in Superior Court and lost, the city took it to the appeals court.
The firefighter's failed drug test has had far-reaching effects on the city's firefighters, who must now submit to random drug testing, as well as drug testing after an incident and for cause.
"We had a case. We lost that battle," the mayor said yesterday. "However, I do believe we won the war. We did get the drug testing, which will preclude drug problems like this from happening. That was a very important victory."
Lendall said firefighters have not spoken out against the drug testing.
Fire Chief Steven Pasdon took a neutral stance on news of Brophy's return, saying only that the firefighter's failed drug test brought the issue to the forefront.
"There's no winner. There's no loser," he said. "It's a process, and that's what happened."
Pasdon said Brophy, now 45, would be welcomed back. The chief was not sure where the firefighter would be assigned but said he would undergo training like any other employee who had been away from the job.
"We have to have some minimum benchmarks to meet before we put him in a very perilous position," Pasdon said.
He said that while it's uncommon, firefighters have returned to duty after years away.

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Posted by: Crvtte65

UUmmmm.... screwy?

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Posted by: NPD108

I think if I slept through a call like that, I'd quit out of sheer embarrassment.

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Posted by: Barbrady

Quote:

Originally Posted by NPD108 I think if I slept through a call like that, I'd quit out of sheer embarrassment.

...and shame.

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Posted by: mtc

There's just plain no accountability anymore.

Though I remember this case, did he ever offer up any reason as to why he was comatose?

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Posted by: Barbrady

Quote:

Originally Posted by mtc did he ever offer up any reason as to why he was comatose?

Prolly passed out on drugs again..

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Posted by: RodneyFarva

I am sure this gives the residents of Peabody the "warm and fuzzy" feeling...sleep tight!...

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Posted by: Crvtte65

Quote:

Originally Posted by RodneyFarva I am sure this gives the residents of Peabody the "warm and fuzzy" feeling...sleep tight!...

Remind you of anyone... pre-air horn of course

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Posted by: KozmoKramer

Quote:

...and had failed a drug test, which was eventually tossed out because the testing method had not been agreed upon by the union.

And therein lies the crux of the problem....

Quote:

Originally Posted by NPD108 I think if I slept through a call like that, I'd quit out of sheer embarrassment.

That's because you, like most of us here, have self-respect and and value our chosen professions.
As opposed to this irresponsible jackass who is unable to live within the confines of legal and responsible behavior.

Quote:

Originally Posted by mtc There's just plain no accountability anymore.

NONE MTC. Sadly, that is a principle which on the whole has died a quiet death.

If Mr. Brophy Jr. had an ounce of self-respect he would have resigned and apologized to the citizens of Peabody.

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Posted by: honor12900

What a joke. He fights the Captain at a fire scene in full view of the public, sleeps threw a child choking call, has to be woken up by police officers banging the door down and pops for coke in a drug test. To top it off he keeps his job and gets back pay.

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Posted by: lpwpd722

This is not exceptable behavior. It's not like he works in a factory somewhere and decides to take a nap behind some boxes. We are responsible for peoples lives including our men and women on patrol. He should not have been even given a second thought after being fired for such a bad offense.

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Posted by: RodneyFarva

Quote:

Originally Posted by Crvtte65 Remind you of anyone... pre-air horn of course

ha ha, I really wish I could have seen that.

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Posted by: DeputyFife

Published: April 02, 2008 12:39 am ShareThisPrintThis
Peabody parents: Dozing dispatcher doesn't deserve back pay
By Matthew K. Roy
Staff Writer


PEABODY — The firefighter who slept through their 911 call has his job back and will collect lost wages, and Traci and George Bisson aren't happy about it.
The police and an ambulance showed up to tend to the Bissons' sick infant early one morning in March 2005. The Fire Department was supposed to be there, as well, but dispatcher John Brophy wasn't awake to answer the call. Mayor Michael Bonfanti fired him soon after the incident, but an appeals court recently upheld the ruling of an arbitrator who found that punishment too harsh.
"I wish I could get paid for doing something wrong," Traci said yesterday. "I don't disagree with (Brophy) getting his job back, but I highly disagree with him getting back pay. You get in trouble and then you're rewarded for it, almost. It doesn't sit well with me."
It doesn't sit well with her husband, either. "What kind of message does that send to say, 'It's OK, here's your job back with all the money?" George said while sitting at the kitchen table in the couple's Moulton Road home. "What has to happen? Does somebody have to die? Do we have to lose a life? What line has to get crossed before there's a consequence?"
The amount Peabody has to pay Brophy and the date he will return to work are still to be determined, according to the city's lawyer.
"We have an obligation to try and get this done as soon as we can," Assistant City Solicitor Daniel Cocuzzo said.
A timely resolution helps limit what the city owes Brophy in back pay, he said. That total is also potentially reduced by subtracting all or a portion of the money Brophy might have earned working another job during his three years away from the Fire Department, Cocuzzo said.
The city is not on the hook for at least 30 days of Brophy's absence, which is the suspension length Arbitrator Robert O'Brien found to be an appropriate punishment.
Reached on his cell phone, Brophy said that the city had not yet contacted him about negotiating his reinstatement. He refused to add any further comment, and attempts to reach him later yesterday afternoon were unsuccessful.
On the night in question, police called the Fire Department dispatch center 15 times but received no response. Eventually, officers had to sound their sirens and pound on the fire station's locked doors to rouse Brophy.
The missed call was not Brophy's only infraction. He had a physical altercation with a fire captain during a fire at his father's house. The arbitrator, however, found that the subsequent five-day suspension given Brophy was unwarranted because Brophy was off-duty at the time of the incident.
Brophy, 45, also failed a drug test, but it was eventually tossed out because the testing method had not been agreed upon by the union. The failed test has had far-reaching effects on Peabody's firefighters, who must now submit to random drug testing, as well as drug testing after an incident and for cause.
Meanwhile, the Bissons' baby, Brendan, is now about 31/2.
That night in 2005, the 6-month-old was gasping for air. George feared he might have swallowed something. Traci, then a new mom, called the doctor.
"When the pediatrician tells you to call 911, you get even more nervous," she said.
It turned out to be the croup.
The Bissons don't want their frustration to be misinterpreted.
"We have no bad feelings toward the Fire Department at all," Traci said. "We still think the firemen are heroes."
But they don't think Brophy should be paid for the time he missed. Traci called it the equivalent of a "paid vacation" funded by the taxpayers and the city.
"I believe in second chances," she said. "But I also don't believe in being rewarded for your irresponsibility."

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