Clearwater fire official's language leads to discipline

CLEARWATER — Division Chief Richard Riley, the No. 3 person in Clearwater's Fire Department, was not pleased with an e-mail he received from an assistant chief.

So, according to Assistant Chief Marvin Pettingill, on Jan. 15, Riley unleashed a string of f-bombs.

"Your f------ e-mail is totally f------ unacceptable," Pettingill recalled. "Lieutenant (Robert) Quinn doesn't know his f------ job. I'm tired of f------ excuses. I just found six f------ things wrong on 48. What do I pay you f------ guys for? It takes me to walk through the f------ bays to find this."

According to Pettingill, Riley cursed more and then threatened to change his shift.

"You're going to do what I f------ say until they get to the doorway (meaning in a structure fire)," Pettingill recalled. "After that I don't give a f--- what happens. They can all be heroes or let the house burn down, I don't give a f---."

It wasn't the first time that Riley, 44, has gone into a tirade, some say. Pettingill and Assistant Chief Scott Magness filed a complaint with the city about being talked to in such a way. The city's Human Resources Department investigated and Riley was suspended March 15 without pay for three days from April 19 to 21.

"Assistant Chief Riley didn't display the level of professionalism that we expect," Bill Horne, the city's manager and the issuer of the suspension, said Tuesday. "The verbal abuse was unacceptable. I don't expect it to exist again. We are not going to have that environment that allows for those verbal comments."

Riley signed his initial contract with the city Jan. 13, 2006. He is from Fairfax County, Va., where he served in dual capacities as the battalion training officer and as a line officer. In addition, he was chief of the Kentland Volunteer Fire Department in Prince George's County (Md.) for six years.

In Clearwater, assistant chiefs are not allowed to be members of the fire union and work at the will of the city manager.

Riley, who earns $80,670 per year, declined to be interviewed for this article. But Horne said Riley is "very dedicated and lives and breathes" fire services.

"That zeal has to be managed in a more professional context," Horne said.

During the investigation, conducted by human resources manager Allen Del Prete, it was also learned that other fire departments in the county were concerned about Riley. They said he would show up at fires without being called. In addition, Riley is said to have videotaped fires from other jurisdictions and posted them to the Internet.

Largo Chief Michael Wallace told his department in an interoffice memo to politely ask Riley to "go available" — meaning his assistance wasn't needed — if he arrived at a fire scene in the city's jurisdiction.

"Because he didn't put himself on the radio and wasn't dispatched and wasn't announcing that he was on the scene, he would just show up and report to the command post," Wallace said Tuesday.

"At the lower ranks, the shift commanders are intimidated from telling chief officers, 'I don't need your help.' I gave them some backing and political force in which they can say, 'No, we don't need any help.' "

Horne said videotaping was stopped when the city learned of it.

During the investigation, which was concluded Feb. 2, Pettingill was asked why he and others didn't come forward with their concerns earlier. He told Del Prete it was because of "threats and intimidation."

"He stated 'that's Chief Riley, if you're afraid for your job you're not going to come forward,' " Del Prete wrote in the investigative report.

Magness, who has been involved in Pinellas County fire services for 35 years, had a similar response, saying that he needed his job. "There are ways to make it unbearable here," Magness said.

Demorris A. Lee can be reached at dalee@sptimes.com or (727) 445-4174.