CLEVELAND — Cleveland Fire Chief Daryl McGinnis has been relieved of his duties pending an internal investigation into whether he has enough training to qualify as an EMT.
Cleveland City Hall confirmed that Chief McGinnis, who was recently reprimanded for comments made at a fire station, where he said he would stab firefighters in the neck if needed, does not have the proper training requirements to receive his EMT certification, according to WOIO.
Chief McGinnis was required to have 40 hours of training, but he only had 22, according to the report.
“I am disappointed that Chief McGinnis failed to meet this minimum requirement and have relieved him of duty pending an internal review and disciplinary process,” said Mayor Frank Jackson. “But the real problem is that this is another example of a culture within the Division of Fire that betrays the public’s trust. The audit we are conducting as a result of this will look at every firefighter’s records to ensure that they are all in compliance.”
The Association of Cleveland Firefighters took issue with the mayor’s statements regarding the department’s culture, saying that they were committed to protecting the city’s residents. In a statement the union said, “The men and women of the Cleveland Fire Department are in no way responsible for the chief’s apparent failure to properly maintain his required certifications. The chief, and the chief alone, is accountable for his own conduct and actions.”