GARDEN GROVE, Calif. — A mayor’s son hired last year as a firefighter, despite a criminal record, is still on the job and looking at a possible pay raise after being transferred to a different job.
The Orange County Register reported that Jeremy Broadwater was pulled out of his job on a fire truck and reassigned to a desk role earlier this month.
A memo signed by the city and firefighter’s union stipulates that an employee making such a switch can get a raise of up to 10 percent, according to the report.
Broadwater, son of current Mayor and longtime Councilman Bruce Broadwater, was hired last year despite a list of 10 arrests and misdemeanor convictions of assault, resisting arrest, public intoxication and theft.
Officials familiar with the competitive hiring process were shocked that he was hired, according to the report. Supervisors aired worries about his job performance, assigned colleagues to check his work and removed him from fire calls.
One captain wrote to a superior that if, “Broadwater was placed in a situation where he would have to act independently, the patients would gravely suffer.”
Broadwater’s reassignment became effective Saturday, days before his probationary status as a firefighter was set to be complete, according to the report.
“This is a management decision to allocate resources that best serve the department,” City Manager Matt Fertal said.
Fertal declined to say what Broadwater’s duties are in his new position or what his salary would be, according to the report.