Wednesday, July 11, 2007
Settlement Allowed D.C. Firefighter to Work Just Before Jail Sentence for a Shooting. STATter 911 has Documents. FF Now In Jail, Considered AWOL.
STATter 911 has obtained the details and documents behind a deal that allowed a D.C. firefighter to go back to work just before he was sent to jail for shooting at a tow truck operator. On January 26th, then interim D.C. Fire & EMS Chief Brian Lee, and the department's legal counsel, Theresa Cusick, signed a two-page agreement allowing Firefighter/Technician Berlin Hiligh to return to work after serving a 240-hour suspension.
Reporter Matthew Cella of The Washington Times reported last month that Hiligh, assigned to Engine 4, came back to work in the spring of this year. Weeks later, on May 24th, Hiligh, a seven-year veteran, was sentenced to 5 years in prison for the shooting outside of his Bowie home.
The shooting occurred on November 22, 2006, when Hiligh awakened to discover his Chevrolet Suburban being towed from a private parking space. While no one was injured, one bullet hit a home where a child had been sleeping. The judge suspended all but 6-months of the sentence.
Hiligh is currently in jail and the D.C. Fire & EMS Department is now taking steps to fire him. Sources tell STATter 911, that Hiligh now faces internal charges of being AWOL. We are also told that officials would not allow some of Berlin Hiligh's fellow firefighters to cover Hiligh's shifts or donate leave while he is in jail.
Calls have not been returned requesting comment about the agreement from D.C. Fire & EMS officials and IAFF Local 36. The union represented Hiligh in the settlement agreement.
Ranking officials with D.C. Fire & EMS who are familiar with the issue, but not authorized to talk about it, tell STATter 911 that the agreement was based on the information they had at the time it was signed. According to the sources, D.C. Fire & EMS officials had been in touch with the Prince George's County State's Attorney and were assured that Hiligh would not be serving jail time on the misdemeanor charges of reckless endangerment. The charges were negotiated in a plea arrangement with Hiligh and his attorney.
In June, Hiligh's attorney, J. Wyndal Gordan, told reporter Cella, "Never in a million years would we have expected any jail time." In the same article, a spokesman for State's Attorney Glenn Ivey said, "We asked for the maximum, which in this case was five years."
Below is the two-page settlement agreement. Click on each page to see a closeup view:
Reporter Matthew Cella of The Washington Times reported last month that Hiligh, assigned to Engine 4, came back to work in the spring of this year. Weeks later, on May 24th, Hiligh, a seven-year veteran, was sentenced to 5 years in prison for the shooting outside of his Bowie home.
The shooting occurred on November 22, 2006, when Hiligh awakened to discover his Chevrolet Suburban being towed from a private parking space. While no one was injured, one bullet hit a home where a child had been sleeping. The judge suspended all but 6-months of the sentence.
Hiligh is currently in jail and the D.C. Fire & EMS Department is now taking steps to fire him. Sources tell STATter 911, that Hiligh now faces internal charges of being AWOL. We are also told that officials would not allow some of Berlin Hiligh's fellow firefighters to cover Hiligh's shifts or donate leave while he is in jail.
Calls have not been returned requesting comment about the agreement from D.C. Fire & EMS officials and IAFF Local 36. The union represented Hiligh in the settlement agreement.
Ranking officials with D.C. Fire & EMS who are familiar with the issue, but not authorized to talk about it, tell STATter 911 that the agreement was based on the information they had at the time it was signed. According to the sources, D.C. Fire & EMS officials had been in touch with the Prince George's County State's Attorney and were assured that Hiligh would not be serving jail time on the misdemeanor charges of reckless endangerment. The charges were negotiated in a plea arrangement with Hiligh and his attorney.
In June, Hiligh's attorney, J. Wyndal Gordan, told reporter Cella, "Never in a million years would we have expected any jail time." In the same article, a spokesman for State's Attorney Glenn Ivey said, "We asked for the maximum, which in this case was five years."
Below is the two-page settlement agreement. Click on each page to see a closeup view:
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