Two Clearwater fire officials suspended

A Clearwater Fire Department division chief and an assistant chief were reprimanded after separate incidents in which they were found to have behaved inappropriately or used improper language.

Division Chief Richard Riley will serve a three-day suspension next month after admitting that on three separate occasions he "engaged in behavior and/or used language that would be considered inappropriate," according to a notice of suspension issued by the city of Clearwater.

"It is clearly unacceptable for a supervisor at your level in the organization to act in such a manner toward or in the presence of subordinate employees," said City Manager Bill Horne.

The notice did not give specifics on Riley's conduct.

Assistant Chief Ricky Stasiow­ski was suspended March 15-24 for making an inappropriate comment about women in the workplace. According to the notice of suspension, Stasiowski was having a conversation at Fire Station 51 on Dec. 28 when he said that he would not have any women working at his station.

"Such a comment has greater implications when verbalized from a supervisory employee, in particular a manger who has a substantial impact on the staffing of stations in the department," Horne wrote.