Firing over porn is ruled excessive

An arbitrator rules that a dismissed St. Pete Beach fire lieutenant should be reinstated.

By AMY WIMMER, Times Staff Writer
© St. Petersburg Times
published August 21, 2002

ST. PETE BEACH -- The firefighter who viewed pornography on city computers last year should get his job back, but no back pay.

An independent arbitrator ruled Tuesday that former St. Pete Beach fire Lt. Crist Fellman violated city rules when he accessed porn at the firehouse, but the city went too far when it fired Fellman as punishment.

The arbitrator, Tampa lawyer Walter E. Aye, ruled that the city must return Fellman to the Fire Department in a month, but without his former rank of lieutenant. Fellman would return as a firefighter/emergency medical technician.

"We're disappointed, obviously, and we're going to take the next few days deciding what we do next," City Manager Mike Bonfield said Tuesday. Bonfield would not rule out an appeal of the arbitrator's decision.

The city has already spent about $50,000 on attorneys' fees related to the dispute, plus overtime paid to other firefighters to cover Fellman's position during the past year, Bonfield said.

Fellman was fired last year following an investigation into whether he accessed pornography on city computers. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement confiscated city computers, but investigators could only link directly to Fellman a few of the hundreds of pornographic images found on the Fire Department hard drives.

Fellman said the few months he spent away from work allowed him to "rediscover" his family and get involved with a church. He was even elected as a church trustee a couple weeks ago, Fellman said.

"I've had to keep my mouth shut for a whole year," Fellman said Tuesday after the arbitrator released his ruling. "What I want to make very clear is that the media in general have made it sound like this was a man who was sitting around the fire station viewing pornography. The only thing the city had left (as evidence) . . . was my own admission that I was in a chat room and, as a result of being in a chat room, had adult advertisements pop up."

Fire Chief Fred Golliner argued in front of the arbitrator that Fellman's return to the department could have a "devastating" and "catastrophic" impact on the department. Aye was unconvinced.

Aye also ruled that Fellman is not entitled to back pay for the more than eight months he was out of work. He will be on probation for the first six months of his return to work, and the city may forbid Fellman from accessing city computers.

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