Jury acquits two PGFD volunteers accused of attacking career firefighters
Looking for a quality used fire truck? Selling one? Visit our sponsor Command Fire Apparatus
Previous coverage of this story
Read press release from defense attorney Brian R. Bregman of Bascietto & Bregman, LLC
Competitive tension between volunteer and career firefighters, which boiled over at the scene of a fire and landed inside a Prince George’s County courtroom, has been resolved.
Two Maryland firefighters charged with attacking two colleagues at a house fire in 2015 have been acquitted by a jury of all charges.
Jeffrey Miller and Christopher Kelly are both volunteer firefighters with the West Lanham Hills station.
They were facing second-degree assault charges, as well as accusations of interfering with a firefighter and misconduct in office stemming from a situation that occurred on Dec. 8, 2015.
Police and prosecutors alleged the two attacked two female career firefighters from Career Engine 30 at the scene of a house fire in Hyattsville, an incident that former chief Marc Bashoor would describe as a “turf battle” between career and volunteer firefighters in the wake of that incident.
Bashoor, who is now retired, went on to institute a number of policy changes related to how the department would respond to calls.
The trial lasted four days, and the verdict came in shortly after 8 p.m. Friday.
An attorney representing Kelly, Brian Bregman, confirmed the news to WTOP Saturday afternoon.
He also broke down the specifics of what exactly happened the night of the fight.
Continue reading the article here
