Dec. 24--The Morgantown Police Department has completed its investigation into an allegation that city firefighters viewed pornography on personal computers while on duty at the Northside Fire Station.
City Manager Jeff Mikorski said in an email that allegations of criminal activity were declared unfounded.
"The investigation found that material non-compliant with our policy was seen at certain times in the past," he wrote. "Any infractions of the policy in the future will be dealt with as a personnel issue."
Police Chief Ed Preston said essentially the same thing: There were some personnel and policy issues referred to Mikorski.
The allegation came in the form of a letter to Morgantown Fire Chief Mark Caravasos, a copy of which was provided to The Dominion Post. The letter says that firefighters share porn sites from time to time at the firehouse. They do it to break the boredom during shifts.
Caravasos said Monday via email that Mikorski informed him on Friday that the investigation was complete. But he is off for the holiday and hasn't received or reviewed any written brief on the issue, and therefore hasn't had a chance to determine what action to take. He returns to work today.
"Since this issue may contain sensitive information, it will be handled as a personnel issue and the Morgantown Fire Department will not release any information regarding anything that could be used to identify or isolate individuals," he wrote. "Any actions taken will be in accordance with city of Morgantown Personnel Rules and with the support of city administration."
The Dominion Post
asked all three officials if the investigation extended beyond the Northside station, and about Mikorski's reference to past incidents.
Referring to that and a question about any prior knowledge of the issue, Caravasos wrote, "I can state that many departments have had to deal with the issue concerning the viewing of pornography in a fire house; it is a topic that goes back throughout the years. I am certain that there have been incidents where images were viewed in one of our stations.
"With a group of men that range from 20 years of age and up," he continued, "these issues do arise. When discovered, they are handled in-house through the chain of command."
Caravasos provided to The Dominion Post a copy of Standard Operating Procedure General Category 13, regarding offensive material and behavior, which the department uses to address the topic. It says, "Pornographic literature, movies, tapes and other materials of this type shall be prohibited."
He also provided an administrative policy on the use of city computers. As previously reported, city computers are monitored for unauthorized use, and these allegations referred to the use of personal computers in the station.
But the policy lists among unacceptable uses of the Internet, "Use for access to and distribution of pornographic or otherwise indecent or obscene material."
Under penalties, it says any "use in violation of this policy may result in discipline up to and including termination."
Copyright 2013 - The Dominion Post, Morgantown, W.Va.
