VA politician questions why they give firefighters awards in middle of ceremony
King William Supervisor David Hansen wants to know what "they do that's above & beyond"
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(Thanks to Becky Wright for sending this story to STATter911.com.)
In King William County, Virginia Monday the Board of Supervisors honored fire, EMS and 911 for saving the life of a citizen. That citizen was there for the ceremony. At the same meeting a founding rescue squad member who recently passed away was remembered and a local ambulance service was recognized for its work. Controversial political stuff, huh? (More details of those being honored and pictures are at the bottom of this post.)
Apparently it was for one member of the King William County Board of Supervisors. David E. Hansen thought the middle of the event with colleagues, family and friends present was as good of a time as any to express his displeasure with what was taking place in front of him. According to Kassie Simmons at the Daily Press, Supervisor Hansen complained, “If we keep giving awards to every firefighter or EMS, we’ll run out of paper. What did they do that’s above and beyond what they’re paid to do?”
Community members were taken aback by Hansen’s comment. As he explained himself further, murmurs filled the room. Various community members spoke out-of-turn to remind Hansen that the awardees are unpaid.
“The folks in that room that were recognized were volunteers. The man they saved was in that room and you could just see the pain in his face,” said Amanda Worley.
After Hansen’s comments, Chairman William Hodges said he wouldn’t respond to Hansen’s question as to what the service members did to deserve the recognition. Chief of Fire and EMS Andy Aigner refused to comment.
So, who is David Hansen? Hansen was elected to the BOS in 2015 and since then there have been a couple of interesting articles about him. In May, Hansen received a 30-day suspended jail sentence and put on probation for two-years for contributing to the delinquency of a minor.
Ashley Luck, The Virginia Gazette:
Judge B. Elliott Bondurant found Hansen guilty of contributing to the deliquency of a minor, a class one misdemeanor, on May 18 after Hansen had been accused of dropping the child off on the side of the road after an argument in the car on Sept. 27, 2017.
Christine Metcalf was also charged with contributing to the delinquency of a minor and was found not guilty.
The minor, now 13, is now in the foster care system.
Last September, the Commonwealth’s Attorney refused to renew Hansen’s concealed carry permit because of an incident at a 2016 School Board hearing. According to news reports, Hansen left his vest with his gun inside behind when he exited the room. In November a judge overruled that decision and approved Hansen’s permit. (Read more here).
My conclusion upon reading all of this is that while David Hansen doesn’t want to recognize the work of fire, EMS and 911, the local news media has not problem recognizing his work.
