City fire lieutenant put on administrative leave

06/27/2006

William Kaempffer , Register Staff

NEW HAVEN — A city fire lieutenant has been pulled out of the firehouse and placed on administrative leave at two jobs after he allegedly showed a picture of his genitalia to a female employee at the Hospital of Saint Raphael. Lt. Herschel Wadley was off-duty at the Fire Department and working as a paramedic for American Medical Response, a private ambulance company that serves much of the region, when the incident allegedly occurred.

According to people familiar with the case, the image was displayed on Wadley’s camera phone, and the encounter happened outside the Chapel Street hospital earlier this month.

The Fire Department, AMR and St. Raphael’s each confirmed that a complaint had been filed, but provided few details about the alleged incident.

"The hospital received an employee complaint that involved alleged harassment by an individual employed by AMR," hospital spokesman Rick Scavetta said Monday. "Our staff conducted an initial investigation and then referred the matter to AMR for them to handle."

Said AMR spokesman Eric Berthel: "We were made aware of a complaint through the Hospital of Saint Raphael. When we got the complaint, we placed the employee on administrative leave."

"It is under investigation and the investigation is moving forward," he said.

The unpaid leave is standard practice, Berthel noted, designed to protect both the employee and the company and is not a presumption of guilt or innocence.

The allegation has affected Wadley, an 11-year veteran, at the Fire Department as well.

On Friday, Fire Chief Michael Grant placed Wadley on paid leave pending the outcome of his own investigation. He said he would contact administrators at AMR and the hospital.

"I placed him on administrative leave pending my looking into the incident to see if there was a violation of department rules, regulations, general orders and any city policies that may be in effect," said Grant.

It wasn’t clear what sanctions Wadley could face at the Fire Department since the alleged incident happened when Wadley was off duty. The fire service does have a broad general order prohibiting conduct that is prejudicial to the good name and reputation of the department.

Wadley could not be reached for comment Monday.

Firefighter Wayne Ricks, the president of the Firebird Society, a fraternal organization for black firefighters, described Wadley as an exemplary employee. "Whether these allegations are true or not, he’s been a model firefighter his entire career," said Ricks.

Wadley joined the department in 1995 and was promoted to lieutenant in 1999.

Firefighters in the department work three-day tours followed by three days off, so it’s not unusual for people to work second jobs.

George Longyear, the chairman of the Board of Fire Commissioners, said Monday that he didn’t want to jump to conclusions until all the facts are in. The chief had apprised him of the complaint and he said he trusts the chief to conduct a thorough investigation.