WARWICK, R.I. — A fired East Greenwich firefighter testified Wednesday that he learned of his termination during an emotional late-night call from his brother.
James Perry said he was in bed when his brother, William Perry, called his cell phone around 11:30 p.m. Aug. 19.
"He said, 'I got an email you were terminated tonight,'" James Perry said. "I asked how. He said, 'I really don't know.'"
"I was beside myself," said Perry, who was hired as an East Greenwich firefighter in August 2016 after 27 years as a firefighter in Coventry.
Thoughts raced through his head, he said, about the reason for the sudden firing. He wondered if it was because he was out on an on-the-job shoulder injury. Or, could it be due to his brother's role as the firefighters union president — or was it about the special East Greenwich Town Council meeting that morning in which the council named Capt. Thomas Mears as acting East Greenwich fire chief?
"Were they retaliating" against him due to his brother's clashes with town leaders? he said.
James Perry took the stand at the bench trial before Superior Court Judge Susan E. McGuirl into a lawsuit brought by Perry over his dismissal.
Perry and the firefighters union — East Greenwich Firefighters Association, Local 3328, IAFF, AFL-CIO — sued new Town Manager Gayle Corrigan and the Town Council, alleging that the decision to terminate Perry came in retaliation for his brother's vocal criticism of Corrigan and the council. The lawsuit also challenges the legitimacy of Corrigan's hiring as town manager, based on alleged Open Meetings Law violations. They are asking McGuirl to declare Corrigan's hiring invalid and for Perry to return to the job.
The town asserts that Perry's firing was for good cause because he falsely claimed during his hiring process that he had training certifications he doesn't actually possess.
Perry testified it was commonplace when he was hired decades ago in Coventry for departments not to give firefighters actual certificates indicating they had completed training. He said he discussed the lack of a paper trail during his application for a lateral transfer to the East Greenwich Fire Department and was hired nonetheless.
Did he intend to mislead East Greenwich officials by indicating on his résumé that he had been certified in Level I and II firefighting training? asked Perry's lawyer, Elizabeth Wiens. "No at all," Perry said, adding "Back at that time ... you didn't get certificates."
Town Solicitor David Agostino asked Perry how the town would know he had received such training without an actual certificate.
The training was a requirement of being hired in Coventry, Perry said.
"If you weren't proficient in it, they'd make you do it over and over again until you cleared," Perry said as his brother looked on.
"In the fire service, it's continuing training all the time," James Perry said.
Perry told Agostino that he gave up his rank as a lieutenant in Coventry and took a cut in salary to take the East Greenwich job.
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