"Icing" Conviction

Background related question: This is my only ding on a spotless criminal background and I am wondering how best to explain it.

August 2010 while at a happy hour I was "iced" (dumb prank/drinking game from 2010) by my friends with a 32 oz bottle. I was stupid and shouldn't have gone along with it but I was told to man up and obliged. I'm not a heavy drinker and had been at happy hour for a few horus, so needless to say I blacked out and when I came to I was getting a citation ticket written for having knocked over and broken a sandwich shop sign on my walk home from the bar. I walked down to the shop the next morning, apologized & paid the owner for the sign and he wrote a note stating I had paid for it. I brought it to court and the prosecutor declined to prosecute "Nolle prosequi" or whatever.

It was just expunged. But I know it will still come up in a BI. Just wondering how best to explain it, other than how I just did. I rarely drink and when I do it's in total moderation - 2-3 a night tops. It was just one bad night where peer pressure got the best of me.

The way you explained it is the way to do it in the background investigation. You wasted your time having it expunged. It appears like you are trying to cover it up.

Realize that this opens the door for the BI to investigate your drinking habits.
Be honest and forthright. It's good if this is your only blemish on your record.....

How old are you


Have you thought about giving up drinking, at least till after you get on a job???

If you're being "iced" you're too young to be hired right now anyways so keep your record clean for a few years and worry about it than.

I was 27 at the time and 28 now, so I think I'm getting up there to be waiting around for a few years.

Like I said, I hardly drink at all now and have nothing else to hide. I learned my lesson and would rather be called a "fag" for not "keeping up" all day than mess up again like that. I know it was mistake on one night and am trying to mitigate it the best I can, or assess if it is worth it to pursue investing in training programs. Thank you for your advice.

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Originally Posted by poledaddy

Background related question: This is my only ding on a spotless criminal background and I am wondering how best to explain it.

August 2010 while at a happy hour I was "iced" (dumb prank/drinking game from 2010) by my friends with a 32 oz bottle. I was stupid and shouldn't have gone along with it but I was told to man up and obliged. I'm not a heavy drinker and had been at happy hour for a few horus, so needless to say I blacked out and when I came to I was getting a citation ticket written for having knocked over and broken a sandwich shop sign on my walk home from the bar. I walked down to the shop the next morning, apologized & paid the owner for the sign and he wrote a note stating I had paid for it. I brought it to court and the prosecutor declined to prosecute "Nolle prosequi" or whatever.

It was just expunged. But I know it will still come up in a BI. Just wondering how best to explain it, other than how I just did. I rarely drink and when I do it's in total moderation - 2-3 a night tops. It was just one bad night where peer pressure got the best of me.

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If you're a good guy with positive character traits, a squared away testing mentality, and no other legal or administrative transgressions (poor job history, bad credit, etc) you should be just fine.

Your offense isn't that big of deal. I think people responding are making a mountain out of a mole hill. Happens a lot on here, often from trolls who aren't hired and don't know what the hell they're talking about. Chief Lepore is a legit contributor, but I respectfully disagree. California is a lot tighter than other places.

Look, boys will be boys. Especially firemen. I know plenty of great guys who have been "iced" before, and have done much sillier (and legally frowned upon) things after having one too many.

You owned up to a mistake that was atypical to your character (and drinking habits), the prosecution recognized that and dropped the case. I guarantee you if they thought you were a problem child they would have put the screws to you.

It is your legal right to have the record expunged. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise. A blemish on your record could affect your ability to get a loan, rent a house, or get a job that pays the bills while you try to get a job with the FD in these tough economic times.

Expungements that are obtained in a court of law give you the right to omit a legal infraction from application processes, in an effort to prevent an adverse decision on any of the aforementioned situations above.

THAT BEING SAID, expungements should not be omitted from fire applications. You should always list them, and be proactive in explaining the situation. You clearly have nothing to hide, and any inquiries into your drinking history should eradicate any concerns they may have.

Any BI with a brain and the ability to discern between deception and an honest and legal attempt to clear the past in an effort to obtain fruitful employment or financial assistance will be able to tell the difference.

yes and they will hire you over all the other candidates with clean records...

All you can do is explain it as you have done here. Be open, honest, and explain that you made a mistake, learned from it, and have moved on. It may hurt you, but all you can really do is tackle the issue head on. Good luck.

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Originally Posted by Rdoggvf722

yes and they will hire you over all the other candidates with clean records...

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I call BS theory on your comment. What qualifies you to say that? Are you a chief, BI, or administrator?

I was hired with 17 other guys, a few of which had "not so clean" records, from a pool of 500 applicants. I know many other great guys at my department who were hired before me, who also had been in trouble before getting on.

I also have friends who got hired from a local metropolitan department who, under the same circumstances were hired from a much larger pool of applicants (3000).

I also have a friend at a largest metropolitan department in the state adjacent to mine who was hired with a DUI on his record, against a pool of 4500 candidates. He just got off probation last month. Great guy, made a dumb decision, learned from it, owned up to it, and still got hired.

I could go on and on...

The whole idea that "why hire you, when there are 1000's of other candidates with clean records" is nothing more than red herring...firefighters are human and many prospective employers look at the entire picture of a candidate when making a hiring decision. Will everyone look past it? NO...but the rhetoric of "exclusivity" that is pandered by the some of the trolls on these boards is nothing but a bunch of utter BS.

By the way, I'm drinking a Bud Light while I type this during some down time on my 5 day...I must have a drinking problem...

powerhourcoug, you do have a drinking problem. You drink bad beer.

poledaddy,
If that is your only problem, and you explain it as you did here I don't think it will be a problem. Don't do anything else and you should have a good shot. I agree with Paul, you did waste your time having it expunged, but it is what it is .

By the time you get to listing this and talking to a background investigator about this you are already in the hiring process and I don't think that would knock you out. Just about everyone has something in their past, just keep the rest clean and you will do fine.

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Originally Posted by powerhourcoug

I call BS theory on your comment. What qualifies you to say that? Are you a chief, BI, or administrator?

I was hired with 17 other guys, a few of which had "not so clean" records, from a pool of 500 applicants. I know many other great guys at my department who were hired before me, who also had been in trouble before getting on.

I also have friends who got hired from a local metropolitan department who, under the same circumstances were hired from a much larger pool of applicants (3000).

I also have a friend at a largest metropolitan department in the state adjacent to mine who was hired with a DUI on his record, against a pool of 4500 candidates. He just got off probation last month. Great guy, made a dumb decision, learned from it, owned up to it, and still got hired.

I could go on and on...

The whole idea that "why hire you, when there are 1000's of other candidates with clean records" is nothing more than red herring...firefighters are human and many prospective employers look at the entire picture of a candidate when making a hiring decision. Will everyone look past it? NO...but the rhetoric of "exclusivity" that is pandered by the some of the trolls on these boards is nothing but a bunch of utter BS.

By the way, I'm drinking a Bud Light while I type this during some down time on my 5 day...I must have a drinking problem...

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Well that's good for you. I don't need to tell you where I work and the positions I hold, nor do we need to brag about our schedules. This is for people to get info from other people in the fire service on the questions they have. I like to drink myself this is a stressful business I think most people do. Like my earlier comment said, If this individual has something expunged from last year it may hurt him for a while. Yes this is only one minor minor little thing, very very minor, however some departments may want to see a few years in between this conviction and him being hired. Just to prove that this is an isolated incident and not shedding light on a bigger problem. Than it all depends on the area he's in. I know departments up north seem to go deeper in depth into backrounds than some in the south that run on the good ole boy system.

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Originally Posted by Rdoggvf722

Well that's good for you. I don't need to tell you where I work and the positions I hold, nor do we need to brag about our schedules. This is for people to get info from other people in the fire service on the questions they have. I like to drink myself this is a stressful business I think most people do. Like my earlier comment said, If this individual has something expunged from last year it may hurt him for a while. Yes this is only one minor minor little thing, very very minor, however some departments may want to see a few years in between this conviction and him being hired. Just to prove that this is an isolated incident and not shedding light on a bigger problem. Than it all depends on the area he's in. I know departments up north seem to go deeper in depth into backrounds than some in the south that run on the good ole boy system.

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You're absolutely right on this being a place to share information, I've been coming here for years. Unfortunately quite a bit of the information shared on here is not accurate.

Firemen (and candidates) are really good at sharing good information. Unfortunately we equally as good as spewing BS as well. We're worse than a pack of housewives, especially on these boards.

The beer and the schedule statement were sarcasm, by the way.

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Originally Posted by FFighterRob

powerhourcoug, you do have a drinking problem. You drink bad beer.

poledaddy,
If that is your only problem, and you explain it as you did here I don't think it will be a problem. Don't do anything else and you should have a good shot. I agree with Paul, you did waste your time having it expunged, but it is what it is .

By the time you get to listing this and talking to a background investigator about this you are already in the hiring process and I don't think that would knock you out. Just about everyone has something in their past, just keep the rest clean and you will do fine.

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Rob...I apoligize...I'm a simpleton and don't have the refined taste of you wine country boys...:)

I still have the tape you sent from our interview consultation a few years back, by the way. Hopefully there will still be cassette players to play it in 20 years when my kid tries to get on :)

thanks to everyone for your thoughts. Before I have no idea what I'm up against. No matter what I want to serve my community. I think I'll look into volunteering and get my certs while maintaining my soulless career as a marketing analyst, and just what happens.

What is icing?:confused:

I don't think this is a big deal. And it was an accident.

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Originally Posted by fallujahff

What is icing?:confused:

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Place a bottle of Smirnof Ice outside someone's door, ring the doorbell, and leave. Person comes to the door, finds the ice, and is obligated to drink it or forever be ridiculed and rendered infertile.

It is totally irrelevant to this issue. How you got drunk is of no consequence.

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Originally Posted by nmfire

Place a bottle of Smirnof Ice outside someone's door, ring the doorbell, and leave. Person comes to the door, finds the ice, and is obligated to drink it or forever be ridiculed and rendered infertile.

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Smirnoff Ice? That's a man's drinking game? How about a bottle of hard liquor, or maybe at least real beer?

...I guess I'm just too old to get it.

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Originally Posted by agavegrove

Smirnoff Ice? That's a man's drinking game? How about a bottle of hard liquor, or maybe at least real beer?

...I guess I'm just too old to get it.

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I'm in my 20's and I find it just as stupid.

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Originally Posted by poledaddy

Background related question: This is my only ding on a spotless criminal background and I am wondering how best to explain it.

August 2010 while at a happy hour I was "iced" (dumb prank/drinking game from 2010) by my friends with a 32 oz bottle. I was stupid and shouldn't have gone along with it but I was told to man up and obliged. I'm not a heavy drinker and had been at happy hour for a few horus, so needless to say I blacked out and when I came to I was getting a citation ticket written for having knocked over and broken a sandwich shop sign on my walk home from the bar. I walked down to the shop the next morning, apologized & paid the owner for the sign and he wrote a note stating I had paid for it. I brought it to court and the prosecutor declined to prosecute "Nolle prosequi" or whatever.

It was just expunged. But I know it will still come up in a BI. Just wondering how best to explain it, other than how I just did. I rarely drink and when I do it's in total moderation - 2-3 a night tops. It was just one bad night where peer pressure got the best of me.

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I would think about how your going to tell them. I wouldnt use the term "ICING" I wouldnt go into great detail about the night, be very professional in your answering. I screw up, and i would think of every question they could ask you about it. Have the return answers and good answers and dont make excuses for yourself. Also dont say you broke down to peer pressure.

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Originally Posted by nmfire

I'm in my 20's and I find it just as stupid.

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Agreed... "Icing" is the dumbest thing I've ever heard of.