A former Dover firefighter/paramedic has filed a federal lawsuit against both the city and its current assistant fire chief, claiming discrimination and emotional distress from alleged hazing incidents.
Fosters reports that Benjamin P. Noyes of Atkinson filed the lawsuit Friday in U.S. District Court in Concord through his attorneys, requesting that the court find the city liable for disability and age discrimination, and award him for "lost wages, lost employment benefits, lost earning capacity and counseling expenses." Noyes is also seeking an unspecified amount in compensatory damages for "emotional distress" and "humiliation."
The lawsuit claims Dover Assistant Fire Chief Paul Haas, who was a captain and Noyes' supervisor when he was employed at the department from August 2014 to May 2015, was the main instigator of the hazing and harassment.
Noyes claims he was targeted on his very first day, saying Haas told him he was "way too young" and that he only wanted "guys with real life experience on my shift."
Noyes says Haas forced him to complete a ladder training exercise during orientation in full turnout gear in 90-degree weather that "deviated from department protocol and (National Fire Protection Association) standards." When he couldn't continue because of dehydration and exhaustion, Haas "ordered" him to clean the gutters on the station's black-tar roof for "nearly an hour."
"When Captain Haas finally permitted Noyes to descend the ladder, the Captain permitted the shift members to drink water in front of Mr. Noyes but denied Mr. Noyes any water," the suit claims.
Noyes states that following the incident, he told his department mentor he was "traumatized as a teenager by bullying and that he was again feeling bullied by Captain Haas."
Another incident involved an alarm activation at a vacant building that had "purportedly" been treated for a bedbug infestation. The lawsuit says Haas ordered Noyes to crawl inside and determine the reason for the alarm and later made him strip down before re-entering the fire station so that no bedbugs would enter the facility.
Noyes claims eight firefighters and two captains taunted, photographed and took video of him naked.
Other allegations in the suit include an incident in which Noyes says Haas forced him to falsify a report when a patient was mistreated during hospital transport, and that he was drugged during a May 2015 trip to Boston with other firefighters to celebrate a retirement and subsequently suffered a seizure.
Shortly after the drugging incident, Noyes' probationary period ended and he says the fire chief told him he could either resign or be terminated.
Dover Fire & Rescue declined comment when contacted by Fosters, saying it had not had a chance to look over the lawsuit.
