Midway through trial Wednesday, a judge dismissed a criminal assault charge against a high-ranking Chesapeake Fire Department official who, according to testimony, got in a subordinate’s face and yelled at him.
Thomas Schwalenberg, the department’s chief medical officer, had been facing one misdemeanor count of assault. He was accused of yelling at a firefighter during a training class but not physically touching or harming anyone.
The dismissal came after the prosecutor had presented her evidence in the case. Schwalenberg’s defense attorney then asked the judge to “strike” the charge.
General District Judge Erin Evans-Bedois dismissed it, finding the case didn’t rise to the level of an assault, even when looking at the evidence in the light most favorable to prosecutors.
Following the trial, Schwalenberg and his attorney declined to comment.
The charge stemmed from a Feb. 11 confrontation between Schwalenberg and Shaun Blazvick, a firefighter and paramedic, during a training class on a new videoscope used to intubate patients.
Blazvick testified Wednesday that he asked a question, and Schwalenberg then came over, put his hands on the table, leaned in and yelled at him.
“I thought I was going to be struck,” Blazvick testified.
Blazvick ultimately went to a magistrate and secured a criminal charge against Schwalenberg.
Several other members of the Fire Department, who were subpoenaed, testified Wednesday that they saw Schwalenberg put his hands on the table and lean in toward Blazvick.
One captain said Schwalenberg’s voice was raised, his face red, and that he yelled at Blazvick from about a foot from his face. Another said the confrontation made him feel “very uncomfortable.”
According to testimony, Blazvick’s question had to do with whether or not they were allowed to intubate.
Surveillance video of the encounter, which didn’t have audio, was played in court for the judge.
During the hearing, Schwalenberg’s defense attorney suggested in his questioning of witnesses that there may have been some tension in the department surrounding intubation or the new equipment, although that wasn’t explored further at trial. The judge dismissed the charge before the defense would have presented its case.
The Virginia Supreme Court has said someone who doesn't touch a victim can be guilty of assault if he "engages in an overt act intended to place the victim in fear or apprehension of bodily harm and creates such reasonable fear or apprehension in the victim."
In asking the judge to strike the charge, defense attorney Hugh “Teddy” Black said the video of the encounter doesn’t show anyone flinching or moving. Several people didn’t turn around, someone kept drinking their coffee, and another remained on their phone, he said.
“When did the chief ever engage in an overt act?” he asked. Schwalenberg leaned in and raised his voice, he said. “Is that an assault?”
Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Kerry McArdle pointed to witness testimony. Witnesses described Schwalenberg as visibly upset, “grilling” Blazvick and “bearing down” on him. One person said he was red-faced and yelling from a foot away from Blazvick’s face.
“That is an assault,” she said.
Schwalenberg, one of the six highest-ranking members of the department, remains employed in the same position, according to the city. He has worked for the department for over seven years.
———
©2019 The Virginian-Pilot (Norfolk, Va.)
Visit The Virginian-Pilot (Norfolk, Va.) at pilotonline.com
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
