The Oregonian
PORTLAND, Ore. — A Portland fire captain convicted this year of driving drunk while off-duty — the third time since 2006 — will be demoted to firefighter with a 33 percent drop in pay.
Fire Chief Erin Janssens signed a five-year last chance agreement for Capt. Robert Hutchens that states if Hutchens is involved in another drunken driving case or any other problems arise, he’ll face firing.
Janssens declined comment on the case.
But she sent a memo called “Good Decisions II” to Fire Bureau members on Wednesday morning, alerting them that the bureau is working to develop guidelines for handling discipline in future drunken driving cases.
The bureau has no such guidelines now and sanctions have been inconsistent, the chief said.
“We never imagined the violation would occur repeatedly,’' she said.
The memo follows one issued in August that urged members to drive responsibly.
In Hutchens’ case, the bureau didn’t discipline him after his first two DUII cases, other than temporarily preventing him from driving any fire apparatus or collecting apparatus operator’s premium pay. Hutchens was referred to a second-chance diversion program after his first DUII arrest in 2006. He was convicted in the second and third DUII cases.
The lack of earlier discipline hampered the city’s efforts to fire Hutchens after his third DUII conviction this year, because officials suspected he likely would get his job back if he challenged the firing before a state arbitrator, said Dan Saltzman, who serves as fire commissioner.
That’s why they sought the demotion, which Saltzman approved Wednesday.
“We felt this is something that could stick,’' Saltzman said. “It’s pretty severe in my opinion.’'
Yet Saltzman said he and the chief quickly recognized the bureau needs a stringent discipline guideline for DUII arrests. “We’ll be on firmer ground the next time something as outrageous as this occurs,’' Saltzman said.
Alan Ferschwieiler, president of the Portland Firefighters Association that represents the captain, said it wouldn’t have been fair to fire Hutchens, considering he had no past discipline. “We do not condone drinking and driving,’' Ferschweiler said. “At the same time, the city needs to have progressive discipline.’'
The Portland Firefighters Association issued a demand to bargain any changes in discipline guidelines, and now the bureau and the union are collaborating to develop new protocol for DUII cases. The fire chief also alerted firefighters that the bureau will be revising its drug policy to reflect the recent vote by Oregonians legalizing recreational marijuana and “outline acceptable blood-levels of THC.’'
Hutchen’s most recent case stemmed from a March 29 accident on U.S. 26, which injured four people in a car that Hutchens struck after crossing the center line, according to court documents.
In February, Hutchens, a 17-year bureau veteran, pleaded guilty to driving under the influence of intoxicants, reckless driving and second-degree criminal mischief stemming from the off-duty accident in Clatsop County, according to court records.
Last month, he served his first five-day stint behind bars of a 15-day jail sentence. His next two jail stints will begin March 13 and April 21. After jail, Hutchens must be on electric monitoring for 60 days if he’s eligible. He’ll be allowed to leave his home to go to work and attend treatment. He’ll be on probation for two years, and his driver’s license will be suspended for one year.
Hutchens was driving a 2008 Honda Accord eastbound when he crossed the center lane into oncoming traffic and collided with a Toyota Rav4. He was taken to the Seaside police department, and later cited and released. He had a blood-alcohol level of .12, above the .08 legal limit, according to an Oregon State Police report.
Police reports indicate he was driving two children who were not his own at the time of the accident after a birthday party at his parents’ house in Seaside. The officer noted Hutchens had an “overwhelming’’ odor of alcohol on his breath, and his eyes were bloodshot and watery.
Hutchens also was convicted in 2009 of driving under the influence of intoxicants in Yamhill County stemming from a Nov. 28, 2008, arrest in McMinnville. At that time, he was placed on probation for four years and had his driver’s license suspended for one year.
Janssens’ memo Wednesday was a follow-up to a memo titled “Good Decisions’’ that she distributed in late August to all fire bureau staff -- the same month the Fire Bureau’s public information officer was arrested on drunken driving allegations.
“As public servants and responders, we’ve all seen the havoc this substance can wreak; the disease of alcoholism and accidents that have taken - or forever altered - people’s lives,’' the chief wrote in August. “Our knowledge of the dangers of alcohol may explain why citizens frown upon their public servants making poor choices and driving under the influence; we work for them and we should know better.’'
In August, former Fire Bureau spokesman Lt. Rich Wayne Chatman pleaded no contest to driving under the influence of intoxicants and entered a second-chance diversion program open to first time DUII drivers that will allow him to avoid a conviction if he follows court orders.
The bureau transferred Chatman out of his role as public information officer immediately after his Aug. 2 arrest. According to police reports, Chatman was off-duty and driving his Jeep Wrangler SUV at 11:29 p.m. when he made an illegal turn at a red light at Northwest 16th Avenue and Glisan Street in Portland.
Chatman told the officer that he had been wine tasting from 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and had stopped drinking earlier that evening. He told the officer he knew he never should have been driving. Chatman’s blood alcohol content was .14 percent.
Ferschweiler said the union is working to help its members better deal with the stresses of their jobs.
“Please make good decisions and be safe,’' Janssens wrote in Wednesday’s memo to bureau members. “Your life and others depend on it.’'
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