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A personnel board hearing continued in Decatur Wednesday for two firefighters who were demoted from lieutenants by Mayor Tab Bowling over the summer. Firefighters Kevin Jackson and Curtis Butler were demoted. The hearing Wednesday focused on Kevin Jackson, and he was present for the hearing.
The hearing was supposed to be conducted in a public setting and has now been moved to an executive session behind closed doors.
Fifteen to 18 firefighters will be testifying Wednesday, according to assistant city attorney Chip Alexander. He said their testimony could be embarrassing or difficult, so he wanted it to be moved behind closed doors. This was something Decatur鈥檚 personnel board agreed on.
But those who came to watch Wednesday's hearing as well as Councilman Billy Jackson are disappointed in this move and say it should be done in public.
Billy Jackson said, 鈥淚 can鈥檛 even imagine what's going on in our attorney鈥檚 head, but I do think he鈥檚 wrong in this situation. I think that the law says Kevin Jackson, due to the fact that he鈥檚 a person who has to do an ethics form, does not qualify for going into executive session.鈥
Kevin Jackson is accused of degrading his co-workers, giving poor customer service, and having several female guests at the fire station. Kevin Jackson has denied all allegations.
Meanwhile, Curtis Butler is accused of many things鈥攕ome he admitted did happen, like bringing a gun on city property and bringing a woman to the fire station after hours.
The city attorney and personnel board say the next public hearing for this case of the two demoted firefighters will resume next Tuesday.
