The administrative hearing overseen by fire department commanders could last several days, and is run akin to a trial with witnesses and cross-examinations, although the evidentiary rules are far looser. The hearing started shortly after 10 a.m. and was closed to the public and press after a decision by the board.
Probationary Firefighter Remy Jones
The board’s decision to close the hearing means the first disciplinary hearing following the January death of Medric “Cecil” Mills Jr. was conducted in secrecy, with the lieutenant’s defense sealed. Mills collapsed across the street from the fire station on Rhode Island Ave but when bystanders rushed to seek help, firefighters there told them they could not respond until someone called 911. Mills got help only after a D.C. police officer flagged down a passing ambulance.
Neither Davis nor her attorney, Donna Rucker, would comment on the proceedings.
The District of Columbia fire lieutenant who was in charge of a station when no one went to help a dying man across the street appeared before a trial board Wednesday.
The hearing takes place nearly two months after Medric “Cecil Mills” Jr. went into cardiac arrest in a parking lot across from a fire station from Engine 26 on Rhode Island Avenue in Northeast D.C. on Jan. 25.
Firefighter Garrett Murphy
According to members of the Mills family, a number of people went across the street to Engine 26 to ask for help, but none provided any assistance, and directed the people to call 911. Ultimately, a police officer flagged down a passing ambulance, which officials said was initially dispatched to the wrong address before showing up at the scene. However, Mills later died at a hospital.
Lt. Kellene Davis, who was in charge of the station on Jan. 25, appeared in front of a four-member internal disciplinary panel Wednesday to face possible discipline for her role in the incident. The board consisted of two battalion chiefs and two captains, and their first order of business was declaring the trial private for the “safety and security of participants.”
Members of the media were initially allowed inside the hearing, but once it began, they were asked to leave.
The department said that in regards to the incident, Davis did not respond when she became aware that people had approached the station and asked for help, and as a result, faced a list of neglect of duty charges — from violating the patient’s bill of rights to making false statements to failing to document the incident on January 25.
Though a total of five firefighters were on duty at Engine 26 at the time of the incident, Davis was reportedly the only one asked to testify before the panel Wednesday.
None of Mills’ family members were present at the trial, but a parade of firefighters marched in and out – including rookie firefighter Remy Jones, who according to reports, tried to contact Davis about the incident via the PA system, and when she didn’t respond, failed to sound the fire bell.
Firefighter Garrett Murphy was also in attendance. He allegedly found Davis and told her about the incident, then after a verbal dispute did nothing but get a book and was later found reading on his bed.
Murphy and two other firefighters hid their name tags with hats at the trial. It is being reported that Lt. Davis has applied for retirement.
