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Union questions firefighter's discipline
By BRADY DENNIS
© St. Petersburg Times, ZEPHYRHILLS -- The head of the city's professional firefighters union says officials didn't follow protocol when disciplining a firefighter who was suspended recently. Union president Shawn Baptist said Wednesday that union members are investigating the incident and plan to file a grievance with the city. "There were definitely some procedures that weren't followed in his discipline," Baptist said. "We're seeing about what avenues we may take as a union." Timothy Stromsnes, 32, has been suspended for 72 work hours over the incident, which happened Oct. 17, the day after the department received a suspicious envelope. Co-workers say Stromsnes came to work and stopped by the office of Capt. Rex Guynn. He had an envelope in his hand and hit it, sending powder flying, records said. The prank was repeated in front of dispatchers. In a written statement to Chief Robert Hartwig, dispatcher Karen Miller said everyone who saw Stromsnes hit the envelope with the powder laughed. But she acknowledged that the joke was untimely, given recent anthrax concerns. A disciplinary committee later recommended a 48-hour suspension, but Hartwig increased that to 72 hours. On Wednesday, Baptist said union members were upset that Stromsnes' discipline had not followed protocol. He said officials did not take a statement from Stromsnes or Guynn about the incident. Baptist also said the disciplinary review board was made up of only two members rather than the three it is supposed to have. And he said that Stromsnes was not allowed to have a union representative at his disciplinary hearing. "The sad part is they've made a big mockery of this," Baptist said. "They've blown this up into some kind of terrorist threat. There was no intent to threaten. I think we have enough to file a grievance." Hartwig could not be reached for comment Wednesday afternoon, but he said earlier this week that he thought the punishment was fair. "I thought it was poor timing and poor taste and inappropriate for that kind of joke to have been conducted," he said. A Zephyrhills police detective is looking into whether Stromsnes should face criminal charges. Making a terrorist threat is a second-degree felony. Stromsnes has hired Tampa attorney Alex Stavrou to represent him. Christopher Taylor, a paralegal for Stavrou, said Wednesday that he thinks Stromsnes did not receive a fair shake. "This is a great guy, and he's been severely damaged over this," Taylor said. "He's the jokester of the troop. (But) this is crazy. He's very worried about this. His family is concerned and he is concerned." Co-workers said Stromsnes was voted firefighter of the year in 1999. He also coaches youth sports, they said. Stromsnes could not be reached for comment Wednesday evening because he had taken his son trick or treating, Taylor said.
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