Mass. Firefighter Suspended Over Suspended License

LOWELL -- City Manager Bernie Lynch on Friday suspended firefighter Donald Goyette without pay for six months because Goyette failed to notify the city that his license had been suspended and he subsequently drove a firetruck on two separate occasions.

Goyette's license was suspended after he was arrested by state police on a drunken-driving charge on Storrow Drive in Boston last October. Because Goyette refused a Breathalyzer, his driver's license was automatically suspended for 180 days in accordance with state law. A police report said Goyette's eyes were "red and glassy" and that he said he had had "a couple beers" at a Bruins game.

"Not telling the city was a serious lapse of judgment and a transgression," said Lynch, who considering firing Goyette. "This case needed a significant amount of discipline."

Lynch also called Goyette a "a good firefighter" who deserves a "second chance."

Once Goyette returns to work, Lynch said he will be kept on a "short leash" with the city requiring him to "take steps" to address any "underlying reasons" for the transgression. Lynch declined to elaborate.

The city launched its own investigation into Goyette when notified by The Sun, which reported on the matter late last month.

Goyette was found not guilty in Boston Municipal Court on the drunken-driving charge, and found not responsible for a marked-lanes violation.

In Lowell District Court Wednesday, Goyette agreed to pay $200 in court costs in exchange for two counts of operating a motor vehicle with a suspended license being dismissed.

Failing to inform the city of his suspended license and how the criminal case was ultimately resolved are two separate issues, Lynch said.

"I can't, and will not, comment on the criminal side of the case," said Lynch. "All I know is Donald Goyette's driver's license was suspended for 180 days for refusing a Breathalyzer, he didn't tell the city, and he drove a firetruck.

The two calls that Goyette was cited for were both medical in nature -- one to a location on Merrimack Street, the other to Gage Street. Goyette was stationed at the Central Fire Station.

Also, this week, The Sun has learned that police served a restraining order on Goyette Tuesday morning at his home at 86 Corbett St. Police Superintendent Kenneth Lavallee confirmed the serving, but he could not elaborate.

Lynch said the restraining order issue didn't figure into his decision to suspend Goyette for six months, but added "as more information becomes available, we can always revisit the issue."

Goyette, 42, has been a Lowell firefighter since November 2003 and makes about $60,000 a year.

Goyette has faced legal charges twice before.

Before he became a Lowell firefighter, he was riding a Harley-Davidson motorcycle when he was stopped on Oct. 5, 2001, on Middlesex Road in Tyngsboro and charged with drunken driving. He went to trial on April 1, 2002, in Lowell District Court, where a jury found him not guilty.

On Jan. 8, 2010, Goyette was charged with disorderly conduct, resisting arrest and affray after he was removed from the downtown Village Smokehouse restaurant by several Lowell police officers, one of whom was injured during the brawl. The affray charge was dismissed at the request of prosecutors at Lowell District Court on March 26, 2010.

On the same date he was placed on pretrial probation until June 25, 2010, at which time the disorderly-conduct charge was dismissed. The resisting-arrest charge was dismissed upon payment of $200 court costs.

Follow Christopher Scott on Twitter @cscottlowellsun.