IAFF to File Charges Against City of Odessa

Suit rises out of unconstitutional interrogation of five City fire fighters

Washington, D.C., Dec. 10, 2001 – The International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF) said today it will file a lawsuit against the City of Odessa, Texas, charging that the City violated the constitutional rights of its fire fighters. The suit, which will be filed shortly in federal court, arises from the extraordinary interrogation of Stan Tinney, Richard Raymond, James Lujan, John Taylor and Ted Powell, all of whom are employed in good standing as professional fire fighters with the City of Odessa’s Fire Department.

“It’s hard to believe that this kind of harassment can take place in this day and age,” said IAFF General President Harold Schaitberger. “I want to put the City of Odessa on notice that this International, and its quarter-million members, will bring the full force of the IAFF to bear on this matter. We will protect our members’ First Amendment rights, no matter how long it takes to correct this injustice.”

Tinney, Raymond, Lujan, Taylor and Powell are all members of the Odessa Professional Fire Fighters Association, an affiliate of the IAFF. Beginning at 6:00 a.m. on the morning of Nov. 10, the five were ordered to submit to compulsory interrogations conducted by a group of fire department and other City officials. Incredibly, the lengthy interrogations focused exclusively on their conduct as members of the fire fighters’ association, not their professional performance.

The five individuals – one of whom was off duty at the time – were confined in guarded interrogation rooms and forced to sign a legal document while being denied assistance of legal counsel. They were also compelled, under threat of termination, to answer questions concerning actions they had taken during their off-duty hours as members of the association.

Many of the questions during these interrogations focused on identifying who was responsible for maintaining the association’s web site, which is primarily devoted to informing its members of association business. It also includes information on donations to the families of the New York fire fighters lost on Sept. 11 and the association’s “Blue Santa” toy drive. The site also contained expressions of concern by the association regarding staffing shortfalls within the fire department that adversely affect its ability to protect public safety, and the department’s inadequate response to some of the association’s other safety concerns. Tinney, a 22-year veteran Fire Battalion Chief and president of the association, has been suspended without pay for two weeks.

“This is clearly a heavy-handed attempt to break the fire fighters’ association, and to prevent it from speaking out on matters of legitimate public concern, such as the ability of the Odessa Fire Department to protect its citizens,” Schaitberger continued. “The IAFF will remain involved in this matter until these and all other Odessa fire fighters are treated with the respect, dignity and legal protections they deserve.”

The International Association of Fire Fighters represents more than 245,000 professional fire fighters and emergency medical personnel. IAFF members protect more than 60 percent of the nation’s population.