Aug. 16—A supervisor of Kevin Jackson, a highly rated Decatur Fire & Rescue lieutenant who was demoted to bottom rank by the mayor in June, said he should have begun documenting Jackson's behavior earlier and had "stronger conversations."
Concerned citizens packed council chambers at City Hall as the Personnel Board heard from Human Resources Director Richelle Sandlin and DFR Battalion Chief Brandon Strickland on Friday morning. More witnesses were to be called Friday afternoon, and it appeared likely the hearing would not conclude Friday.
Mayor Tab Bowling's determination letter to Jackson, dated June 6, discusses at length a comment Jackson allegedly made at the scene of a cardiac arrest on November 25, 2023. According to testimony, Jackson's crew, of Station 5, was second to arrive at the scene behind Station 1. An ambulance was also present.
There, Jackson is accused of leaving the scene to respond to a fire and making the statement: "He is dead as f***, we're out of here." Strickland, who as of noon Friday had yet to be cross-examined by Jackson's attorney, Russ Prickett, said Jackson should have stayed at the scene longer.
Bowling's letter criticizes Jackson for making the comment in front of the victim's coworkers; however, the victim's coworkers who were present previously told The Decatur Daily that they never heard it.
According to testimony, a call came into the human resources compliance hotline in February, months after the incident, to make a complaint about Jackson's comment and his departure from the scene. When the crew of Station 1 was interviewed by Sandlin and Assistant City Attorney Chip Alexander, they claimed that Jackson spoke those words at the scene and outside of his fire engine.
Station 5's crew, when interviewed, denied hearing the statement "at the scene." Later, they apparently told Sandlin that they did hear the comment, but that it was made inside of Fire Engine 5, according to testimony.
"Is it possible the crew may have lied?" asked board member Darius Clayton.
"That's always possible," replied Sandlin. She said that the November incident alone wasn't "driving the demotion." Jackson is accused of having a history of allegedly poor "behavior" and "attitude," although these allegations are largely contradicted by Jackson's performance reviews signed by Strickland. The poor behavior, rather, was discussed through "informal conversations" within the Fire Department, according to Friday morning's testimony.
Bowling's letter also includes allegations of unauthorized female visitors to Jackson's station, but Sandlin testified there was no evidence to support the allegations and that the investigation into the female visitors was abandoned.
Jackson was placed on a performance improvement plan (PIP), to include quarterly reviews, around six weeks before he was demoted, according to testimony.
"This is more about attitudes, behavior, demeanors?" Prickett asked Sandlin. "No policies were violated?"
"There's not a policy on how to be a leader," replied Sandlin. "So, no."
Prickett asked what Jackson did specifically, after being placed on the PIP, to justify a demotion. He said Jackson was never given the opportunity to adhere to the PIP or show improvement, since he was demoted prior to a quarterly review.
"He doesn't have a history of documented misconduct," Sandlin admitted.
Sandlin made allusions to "retaliation," suggested Jackson had been trying to find out who complained about him, and said he was creating an environment of "toxicity" after he was placed on administrative duties.
Board member Dr. Harold Gilmore later read a dictionary definition of "retaliation."
"What statement did Jackson make to instill fear or harm?" he asked.
"If you start asking about it, that makes other people uncomfortable," Sandlin responded.
Strickland said Jackson can be "very emotional" when things don't go his way.
"He's fairly regularly difficult to manage," he said. He said morale at Station 5 has improved since Jackson's demotion.
In addition to behavior/attitude, Bowling's letter criticizes Jackson for his social media use. Bowling has been heavily criticized by some Decatur residents for the way he's handled the aftermath of the Decatur police shooting of Steve Perkins. Jackson has made Facebook posts critical of the shooting, as well as posts criticizing the city over poor pay.
Perkins' widow and brother, among others seeking justice for his death, packed the council chambers Friday morning.
— [email protected] or 256-340-2438.
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