TAMPA, FL—A local union has asked a judge to hold the city of Tampa in contempt for failing to reinstate a paramedic who was fired nearly two years ago.
The city did allow former Tampa Fire Rescue Lieutenant Dwanue Johnson to return to work last month, but soon demoted him to the position of firefighter without just cause, according to a motion filed in Hillsborough circuit court Tuesday by International Association of Firefighters Local 754.
The demotion violated an arbitrator's decision, later upheld by a circuit judge, to reinstate Johnson to the position of rescue lieutenant, the motion says.
"The city's still playing games here with the man's career and it's just unconscionable," Robert F. McKee, an attorney representing the union, said at a news conference Tuesday.
City spokeswoman Ashley Bauman did not respond to messages seeking comment.
The filing is the latest volley in a legal fight that began when the city fired Johnson in December 2017. His termination stemmed from two incidents in August of that year.
In the first, Johnson got into a "heated argument" with a woman who wanted to ride to a hospital in the back of the rescue vehicle with her daughter. Johnson initially refused, saying it wasn't his practice to allow passengers with patients, court documents show.
Tampa Fire Rescue regulations don’t require staff to provide transportation to a patient’s family members, but the city argued that Johnson was still required to comply with other existing policies regarding “professionalism and interactions with the public.”
The second incident happened six days later, when Johnson was part of a crew responding to a call for help from a woman who said her boyfriend had attempted to die by suicide by overdosing on his medications.
After an initial medical examination and interview with the man, both Johnson and a Tampa police officer came to the conclusion that he had not taken any medication. The officer did not feel the man met the criteria to be held against his will under the Baker Act but asked the man to voluntarily go to the hospital with Johnson.
The man agreed to go to the hospital, but when Johnson continued his medical examination, the man told him he did not want to kill himself and did not want to go. Johnson loaded the man into the rescue vehicle and ordered a subordinate firefighter to drive around the block until the police officer left, then returned to the motel to drop the man off.
Johnson was accused of "intentionally deceiving Tampa Police Department officers about the patient's disposition and, that by releasing the patient, he acted contrary to the evidence of the patient's condition," court documents say.
Johnson was also accused of falsely documenting the case records and was suspended without pay on Sept. 14.
Shortly afterward, medical directors for the city withdrew their approval to allow Johnson to work under their licensed supervision.
Both the arbitrator and the circuit court judge agreed that Johnson "was lax in failing to complete the appropriate paperwork" for the Aug. 27 call, and on Aug. 21 "was more argumentative than necessary" with the young woman's mother. But his actions in both situations didn't rise to the level of insubordination, the rulings said.
And although Johnson showed poor judgment in planning to deceive police when discharging his patient on Aug. 27, the hearings produced no evidence proving that Johnson ignored evidence, falsified patient care records or otherwise violated Tampa Fire regulations, the rulings said.
The arbitrator found he was terminated without just cause and issued an opinion in October stating he should be reinstated to work with full back pay, minus a 15-day unpaid suspension.
The city sought to vacate the reward, arguing in part that the arbitrator exceeded his authority, but Circuit Judge Richard A. Nielson in May denied the motion.
Johnson was reinstated June 3. Then , three weeks later, the city demoted him to the position of firefighter “on the basis of the same allegations that precipitated the termination of his employment,” according to the motion filed Tuesday.
The motion asks the judge to impose sanctions against the city and take any other action necessary to enforce the order.
"The city has caused the expenditure of over $200,000 in attorney's fees, arbitration costs and back pay in an attempt to drive this veteran paramedic from his job," McKee said.
Johnson's salary as a lieutenant was $95,397, according to the union. His pay as a firefighter is $81,245.
A city employee for 15 years, Johnson said he's being targeted.
"This is a case of harassment, hostile work environment and retaliation," he said. "It's just that simple. You have certain individuals in administration ... if they don't like you, they go after you."
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