STATter 911: MD VFD says letter backs up its claim that it was never notified about convicted arsonist

Monday, March 10, 2008

MD VFD says letter backs up its claim that it was never notified about convicted arsonist

Read September 13, 2007 letter from Chief Lawrence Sedgwick ordering Napoleon Queen's dismissal

Read February 19, 2008 suspension letter

See STATter 911's initial coverage of this story

Napoleon Queen photo by Wayne Barrall at FITHP.net

The Ritchie Volunteer Fire Department (PGFD Station 837) says a letter last year from Prince George's County Fire/EMS Chief Lawrence Sedgwick proves Ritchie's leadership was not notified a convicted arsonist was living at the Ritchie firehouse and responding on emergency calls. The letter, dated September 13, 2007 and addressed to Napoleon Queen, tells Queen that this is "official notification that based on your criminal history of arson, you are dismissed from operations within the Prince George's County Fire/EMS Department, effective immediately upon receipt of this notice".

Ritchie Vice President Larry Lee tells STATter 911 the document shows, despite PGFD claims to the contrary, Ritchie's leadership was not on the list of those who received a copy of the letter.

According to the letter, copies were sent by Chief Sedwick to PGFD's four lieutenant colonels, a battalion chief, the department's legal counsel, a volunteer major and the chairman of the Prince George's County Fire Commission. There is no indication on the letter that a copy was given to Ritchie's president or chief.

On February 5, 2008, STATter 911 informed PGFD and Ritchie officials that Queen was currently riding at Station 837 despite his arrest in 1990 as part of an arson ring involving volunteer firefighters. Queen, then 21 and a member of the Boulevard Heights VFD (PGFD Station 817), was later convicted and served time in prison.

After conferring with officials about our discovery, PGFD Chief Spokesman Mark Brady informed STATter 911 that Ritchie's leaders had been sent a letter in September ordering Napoleon Queen's dismissal. Brady said at the time, "We notified the individual himself, the corporation, the Ritchie Volunteers, as well as the volunteer fire service association and commission that we were not going to allow this to happen".

"I won't say that he lied", Larry Lee said by phone on Sunday. "The usual tactic from Prince George's County is to answer the question without first investigating and in this case they answered it the wrong way".

The Prince George's County Fire/Rescue Department handles the background checks for both the career and volunteer staff in the county.

The letter was provided to STATter 911 by Ritchie officials. Larry Lee said it was included in the package of information detailing the charges behind the operational suspensions of Ritchie's chief and president. According to Lee, "It backs up what we said all along that our leadership did not know about Mr. Queen's past".

STATter 911 has independently verified the authenticity of the letter with both career and volunteer sources.

President Dave Crigger and Chief William Cunningham were suspended on February 19 as a result of a county investigation into the handling of the Napoleon Queen situation. In a letter ordering the suspension of Crigger, Lt. Col. Tyrone Wells wrote, "... you have failed to ensure Mr. Queen's compliance with proper procedures, and allowed him to operate as a member". Crigger and Cunningham are expected to appear before a trial board on the charges.

Contacted about this latest development, Mark Brady said he would be unable to comment due to the ongoing disciplinary procedures.

# posted by Dave Statter @ 12:30 AM

Comments:

Spin it any way you want. You still knew that he was not supposed to be riding. You even admit that a volunteer major was notified.

# posted by

Anonymous : March 10, 2008 6:19 AM

I think if you were to dig a little deeper, you might just find that having a criminal living in or riding apparatus at a Volunteer fire station in Prince George's County is not so uncommon.

# posted by

Anonymous : March 10, 2008 7:35 AM

This seems to be apples and oranges here. The letter says a volunteer major was notified and Napoleon Queen. I have two questions why is Queen not being charged? and why is Ritchie and PGF fighting instead of pursueing Queen. Ritchie is so hell bent on defending this guy that they do not realize he was there first point of noitification and he betrayed there trust. Everyone needs to admit there error fix it pursue Queen.

# posted by

Anonymous : March 10, 2008 8:30 AM

Ritchie is really stretching this. You are trying to justify this by saying that you never received notification because you do not see your name in the CC area of the letter that is an error on the secretary's part does not mean you did not receive it. This just proves that a letter went out in September. Why didn't anyone at Ritchie inquire about the results way back in September wasn't until February and now you want to cry foul ball. Where not buying it Ritchie! Also Queen was a live in member he received his copy from the address at the firehouse it's hard to believe no one else knew. Ritchie your covering up

# posted by

Anonymous : March 10, 2008 9:18 AM

Above poster needs to persue a GED.

# posted by

Anonymous : March 10, 2008 9:24 AM

Ritchie has taken no accountability for there actions. There only defense has been when Dave inquired they investigated and removed Queen but that was in February. The letter proves that you received some sort of notification in September because you sent him to have the background check done. You admitted that the checks have to be done by PGF but you (Ritchie) have to make the referral. Bottom line Ritchie failed to followup and conveniently not get the results. In my opinion all parties involved need to be fired (Chief, President etc.) and Queen needs to be prosecuted at best for impersonating a firefighter. They all need to be taught that no one is above the law!

# posted by

Anonymous : March 10, 2008 9:40 AM

To the poster above: Rocks...glass houses...tsk tsk.

# posted by

Anonymous : March 10, 2008 9:41 AM

I guess Ritchie VFD feels that by placing the blame on Prince George's County they will divert the attention from themselves. I think that everyone who has some sort of affiliation with Prince George's County knows that it can be a dysfunctional Fire Department. On this occassion,the blame should solely be placed on Ritchie VFD. It is ultimately the responsibility of the members to know who rides beside them on calls. It amazes me how this Dept. constantly bashes the County and insists on being an independant entity, but as soon as a dark light is shed on them they blame those whom they try so hard not to be associated with. Grow up and take some accountability for your members!

# posted by

Anonymous : March 10, 2008 10:48 AM

First of all, half of the people working for PGFD need to be arrested for impersonating Firefighters!!!

It sure would be nice to see the actual letter addressed to the Ritchie Volunteer Fire Dept.? Someone must have a copy somewhere right????? Thats alot of CC's on Mr. Queens Letter, Ritchies letter should have them same. Where is it???? I think some of Sedgwicks subordinates should also be operationally suspended. They are just as responsible for following up on operational status of all FF's volunteer or career, where is their accountibility??? To say this is all Ritchies fault is discriminatory!!

# posted by

Anonymous : March 10, 2008 11:23 AM

My children know they are accountable for their own actions and they are only 10 and 12. It is hard to believe that grown men try to shift blame when they are caught red-handed. Ritchie VFD is totally out of control.

# posted by

Anonymous : March 10, 2008 11:35 AM

I agree with the last comment Ritchie is totally out of control!

# posted by

Anonymous : March 10, 2008 12:31 PM

I understand why Queen was able to hide at Ritchie VFD."Birds of feather flock together" Queen is obviously a miscrouplos character and so are the members who supported him and continue to support him at Ritchie VFD.

# posted by

Anonymous : March 10, 2008 12:53 PM

I pray that Ritchie VFD did not give this guy another opportunity to set more fires!

# posted by

Anonymous : March 10, 2008 1:04 PM

Typical response from Ritchie. In my 30+ years on the job, I never once saw a VFD take responsobility for anything. They have become very good at duck and cover.

# posted by

Anonymous : March 10, 2008 1:51 PM

It seems to me that Ritchie says they never recieved the letter but PGFD says that Ritchie had received. But Queen surely received his letter at the firehouse because the letter is addressed to Queen and Dave reported his last known address was Ritchie firehouse. I agree with one of the other comments why is just the Chief and the President being suspended why is Queen not being charged? It seems the two are fighting among each other and the main party is getting away scott free to show up somewhere else playing the same game. This is dangerous on a whole diffrent level!

# posted by

Anonymous : March 10, 2008 2:06 PM

I have yet to see how Ritchie VFD has proven there case. I think this helps PCFD. This is just another case that VFD take no accountability for there actions. I think they need to raise the age limit of the volunteers, they to implement mandatory arson prevention for young volunteers and I can go on on. This is so embarrassing to the VFD community.

# posted by

Anonymous : March 10, 2008 2:37 PM

Beer and Fire Trucks. This link just shows how responsible these guys are. I thought alcohol was banned from Fire Department grounds. http://www.ritchie37.com/gallery.php?photo_id=6218&isalbum=1#

# posted by

Anonymous : March 10, 2008 4:10 PM

The volunteer fire commission and the volunteer major would've inquired about the ongoing situation... we all know that. How can ritchie think they can slither their way out of this? You dont need to send anything...word travels quickly amongst all... and it wouldve eventually made to the doorstep of station 37!

# posted by

Anonymous : March 10, 2008 5:58 PM

I have yet to see anyone leave a comment on this thread that has left their name.

As I understand it Mr. Queen did nothing wrong, he was NOT told by the VFD he was "employed" by to stop functions as an operational member.
Did he receive the letter sent by PGFD in September? I would hope that the PGFD would follow normal working guidelines that most agencies follow, requesting USPS Delivery Receipt or Signature Confirmation. If they did not shame on them. If they did, and he signed for it, definitely shame on him. Though I do not find that to be a criminal action. Impersonating a public official requires a lot more than just being told you are not supposed to be doing something.

I also think that if the operational and administrative heads of the Ritchie department have been suspended pending a trial board, than the supervisors on the career side that received this letter should be also.

It seems to me like a lot of problems always happen in PG and as an outside observer, I think they always seem to come down to the leadership of the PGFD. As a FF/P for 15 years in a neighboring jurisdiction I have seen the turmoil over on that side of the line. Luckily it rarely translates to the fire ground when they come over here on Mutual Aid Calls.

# posted by

W. Arnoci : March 10, 2008 6:08 PM

It seems like you, W. Arnoci, too seem be missing the big point. This individual was found guilty in a fairly high profile case. Irregardless of whether or not PGFD informed Ritchie ,the members of that VFD should have known who they were dealing with. These same members constantly bend the rules to suit their needs. PGFD has has too large of a span of control, and when they actually do attempt to enforce the rules people want to cry. I have no sympathy for any of them. You can't honestly tell me that nobody in that organization knew who he was! The fact that they allowed such a person to act in any capacity in their organization doesn't say much for the caliber of individuals involved at Ritchie VFD.

# posted by

Anonymous : March 10, 2008 6:47 PM

W. Arnoci. Lets say you were a convicted pedophile. To you think it would be appropriate for you to start hanging out playgrounds and elementary schools after you were convicted of pedophilia. I certainly don't think thats appropriate and you certainly would know that you should not do that. It is reasonable to assume that Mr. Queen knew he was convicted of arson and was not supposed be riding calls as a firefighter. Even the volunteers have a simple application form that asks if you are convicted of a felony. Lets see Ritchie produce that little gem.

# posted by

Anonymous : March 10, 2008 7:57 PM

I'm sorry, but Larry Lee's comments really don't pass the smell test.

Doing a little digging, it is easy to find that in 1990, when Mr. Queen was charged and convicted of Arson, Larry Lee was serving as President of the Prince George's County Volunteer Fire and Rescue Association. (It's right there on their website www.pgcvfra.org...look under Past Presidents).

Mr. Lee was also serving as President and Deputy Chief of Ritchie during that period.

Mr. Queen was a member of Boulevard Heights when he was charged and convicted. Ritchie and Boulevard Heights are no more than four miles apart as the crow flies, and run together multiple times a day.

Now, Mr. Lee somehow expects us to believe that he has absolutely no memory whatsoever of who Mr. Queen was, and what his history was?

Lee was President of the Volunteer Association and a senior line officer at Ritchie during a time when ten volunteers were charged and convicted of arson at a station bordering his first-due, yet he can't seem to remember who the ten were? I find that difficult to believe.

Seems Mr. Lee suffers from a pretty selective memory...or maybe, just maybe, the Ritchie leadership might have known who Queen was, but were hoping that he could slip by.

Sorry, but as I said, it just doesn't pass the sniff test.

# posted by

Anonymous : March 10, 2008 9:40 PM

I agree with the last comment. Also Queen was a memeber of the Bryans Road Fire Station before he went to Ritchie. There is a guy at Ritchie who is also a volunteer at Bryans Road. The Chief at Bryans Road admitted on television that he learned of Queens arson conviction after he left and went to Ritchie. If the Chief from Bryans Road knew the the Cheif from Ritchie knew news travels quickly between the stations especially since one memeber serves at both stations. This does past the sniff test ................

# posted by

Anonymous : March 11, 2008 8:28 AM

That story don't even pass the "laugh test".

# posted by

Anonymous : March 11, 2008 9:31 AM

All that letter proves is that Ritchie did not directly receive a copy. They were still notified as a result of that letter.

Ritchie VFD fails to disclose that they were verbally notified by a person within the Fire Commission office, at the direction of a volunteer that is on the cc: list, that N. Queen was not eligible to particpate within the Fire/EMS Department.

Why do you think the Fire/EMS Department was so confident in taking action against the vol chief even before a trial board was convened.

# posted by

Anonymous : March 11, 2008 1:38 PM

Hey Dave,

Along with a copy of the suspension letter, did Larry Lee by any chance happen to provide you with a copy of Queen's membership application to join the Ritchie V.F.D.? I doubt it...I'm curious what that document might contain...any chance you can ask them to provide a copy to you? It may answer quite a few open questions...but I have serious doubts they will happily comply. Probably come up with some excuse like they are a private corporation, and not subject to rules of disclosure that governmental agencies adhere to.

Any chance you might be willing th ask them?

# posted by

Anonymous : March 11, 2008 7:31 PM

It’s amazing how many people have the same name, Anonymous. Isn’t it also amazing that so many people have so much to say but won’t say it unless they can say it anonymously.

Kind of lets you know how much stock you can put into their post. Posting of real names would inevitably reveal the true motivation behind their posts and show if their views were fact, fiction or just wishful thinking.

# posted by

John Mutchler : March 11, 2008 7:45 PM

To the person who asked about the membership application I will be glad to ask.

Statter

# posted by

Dave Statter : March 11, 2008 8:05 PM

Man oh man, the computers at Florian Hall are on fire tonight. All the 1619 boys sitting around drinking beer and typing away.

Maybe you guys should be more worried about how the county is getting ready to REMOVE staffing from firehouses instead of this stuff. It's funny, 1619 is worried about a volunteer at a 100% volunteer station, all the while the PGFD is removing career staffing.

Last time I checked the county is in a budget crunch so getting those positions back may be hard. I would be more worried about my problems before others.

# posted by

Anonymous : March 12, 2008 12:15 AM

When I look back at my last comment I realized that I probably spoke too soon. Ritche VFD has really not made an arguement to defend their membership. I would never let my membership fall into that trap!

# posted by

John Mutchler : March 12, 2008 1:09 AM

Let's look through the smoke and see what this all really is. It's another attack by the PGFD on a Volunteer corporation. They know they can't push the ambulance issue anymore to kill Volunteers, so they're going with low blows like this.

How hard is it to understand that it is not the Volunteer Fire Department's responsibility to run background checks on membership, it is the county's? How hard is it to understand that the leadership of Ritchie never received a letter and this is a battle of Hearsay by which the county has once again managed to Blackball one of the only strong Volunteer Coorporations in the County.

The writing is on the wall and you're all blind. The county wants the volunteers gone so that they can run the department without them, but keep using their millions of dollars in Apparatus and Firehouses.

# posted by

Anonymous : March 12, 2008 5:37 AM

You mean to tell me that the local VFD's don't bother to check the background of individuals that apply for membership in an organization? I guess since the County runs a criminal records check, the local VFD's feel that is good enough- I would be willing to bet that the leadership of Ritchie knew of this man's past, but figured they would try to pull one over for the sake of another body for the apparatus.

# posted by

Anonymous : March 12, 2008 10:32 AM

It must be a conspiricy all right. Everyone is out to get all the vollunters. As a matter of fact lets drag everybody into this thread so no one will feel left out.

Queen= livin meber with a shady past that he paid for,but should not be a member anywhere. Should be found and held acountable.

Vol. Chief/Pres.= responsable for everything in the station,members and with administrtive duties. Ball was obviously droped when quenn first came by.

County = should probly have done a better job notifing pepole. Again, the ball was dropped.

Tell me are you just going to let somebody move in to live with you at your home without knowing who they are or doing some of your own checking. Another ball dropped

Time to take some responsibility. Mistakes were made,problems found, fix them or go to court and have a real Adult fix everything for you. But wait the courts are probly part of the consipricy. DJR

# posted by

Anonymous : March 12, 2008 12:37 PM

EVER HEARD OF SPELL CHECK?????

# posted by

Anonymous : March 12, 2008 8:30 PM

It is too bad that there are other departments who have proof the County has lied before and they are just too scared to stand up and tell their story - arson related, too.

# posted by

Anonymous : March 12, 2008 8:31 PM

The point is the Volunteer corporations are not responsible for doing background checks, the County is. The County Found this information out and failed to Notify the Volunteer Department. You can't blame the Volunteers here. The Air Force doesn't sail ships, that's the Navy's job.

# posted by

Anonymous : March 13, 2008 6:09 AM

I agree with the writer who says that all have accountability in this matter including Queen. It seems to me that he is the only one not being punished. If he had disclosed the truth in the beginning or did he? Ritchie nor PGFD would not be in this mess. Ritchie would feel as though they have to play this out in the media for sympathy. My concern is not Ritchie nor PGFD my concern is the community and the danger they may or maynot have suffered. The fact of the matter no matter how much of a nice guy he may seem he is a convicted arsonist and knew he was not allowed to be apart of the fire system. Queen saw a way in and he took it, with no regard to whom it may or may not hurt just like he and the other's did when they set those fire's in 1991. Dave can you ask PGFD what protocols have they put in place to better monitor these volunteer stations and to make sure that proper background checks are being done on the volunteers.

# posted by

Anonymous : March 13, 2008 9:09 AM

First Kentland now Ritchie, can't you guys in PGFD get along with each other. You guys are the biggest bunch of crybaby whiners I have ever heard of. As an outside observer with nothing vested on either side of the issue, I think the PG county government should terminate every career FF and shut down every volunteer firehouse and start over with none of you idiots involved...YOU GIVE FIREFIGHTERS A BAD NAME!

# posted by

Brian in WV : March 15, 2008 11:06 AM

Brian in WV - have you ever had to deal with the BS that PG County Gov't. (PGFD) dishes out? Hmmmm probably not while in WV. So, until you do, trust me you can't possibly understand. This isn't about you or where you live so don't judge others until you walk a mile in their shoes.

# posted by

Anonymous : March 15, 2008 2:22 PM

I used to be a volunteer in PG before I moved out of state. When I was a FF, one had to enter reports after each call that went to the county with each FF's ID number. If they inputted Queen's number the county itself should have noticed he was still riding after Sept. The battle will continue between the County and the Volunteers but the volunteer FFs I know in PG are great and I will ride with them any day.

# posted by

Anonymous : March 17, 2008 1:51 AM