Groundskeeper fired for turning found gun over to police

[usmarine0352_2005]

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Looks like a b.s. case. The guy did the right thing. He was only 2 years from retirement.



I wonder what his chance of winning an appeal are? Or even having an appeal.



http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/05/1...oaded-gun-handing-it-to-cops/?test=latestnews

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Detroit groundskeeper fired after finding loaded gun, handing it to cops

Published May 15, 2012


A Detroit groundskeeper, who turned in a loaded handgun he found hidden in weeds while working, was fired by the city’s Department of Public Services, MyFoxDetroit reports.

According to a Wayne County spokeswoman and the rules, employees aren't allowed to possess a weapon on work property.

Chevilott says he didn't bring a weapon to work. He found it on the job.
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[MrDig]

my guess is management rather than labor decided that a recent hire was at the low end of the union scale as opposed to this guy very high end of the pay scale since he is so close to retirement and enforced the letter of the policy as opposed the rational humane side of the policy.
He stands a good chance of getting his retirement early.

 

[hso]

So is anyone planning to do anything or is this just a complaint thread?

 

[TITAN308]

Someone give me an address to send a letter and I'll be happy to put my 2 cents into these low lifes. Or an e-mail address.

I suggest everyone putting this story up on Facebook and sharing it as many ways as you can.

When are these idiots going to learn the power of social media can give them such a giant headache.

 

[D Crockett]

looks like a way they would not have to pay him his retirement it is happening more and more these days the man did the right thing by turning in the gun and his big mistake was to id himself to the police he could of done it with out giving his name his xbosses have there head up there back sides for doing that what if a kid found that gun and got killed or killed another kid they should of given hip a medal for doing what he did not fire him D Crockett

 

[tarakian]

Why didn't he call the police, instead of waiting for them to drive by? Why would he take it home before taking it to the police instead of directly to the police on his way home? I think some of the facts may be missing here.

 

[TITAN308]

Why didn't he call the police, instead of waiting for them to drive by? Why would he take it home before taking it to the police instead of directly to the police on his way home? I think some of the facts may be missing here.

Because he was busy working?

Because he was not sure what to do, and was worried about initial knee jerk reactions?

Because he wanted to contact a lawyer before turning it knowing his company has been looking for a reason to deny him his retirement benefits?

His foreman, who had knowledge of the situation, was suspended for 30 days

Maybe the question should be, why did his supervisor not assume command of the weapon and take care of it? Why allow an employee to retain it?

 

[jdh]

A city crew that does not have a radio or cell phone amongst them?

I hate to be the one to take the side of management BUT, once he took possession of the contraband firearm instead of securing in place and immediately notifying the chain of command or law enforcement he was in violation of the policy. The point could be argued that he had no intention of reporting, instead intended to keep the found property, and only later had a change of heart.

Had the gun had been used in recent crime, once he touched it evidence was destroyed.

 

[drsfmd]

I'm with JDH here...

This reads like he intended to keep it, then got cold feet and flagged down a cop.

 

[Agsalaska]

Totally agree with JDH. I see management is probably not too popular on this forum, but the guy screwed up. He should have called the police. As soon as he took possession of it he had broken company policy. A policy like gun possession is not usually negotiable, and he lost his job. I doubt it had anything to do with his tenure or retirement but i get that is convenient.

If I found a gun while I was mowing a lawn on public property, the last thing I would do is possess it in any way. Thats pretty stupid.

 

[Creature]

Sounds like a plausible scenario. The news media arent known for getting all the facts to make things clearer.

 

[Flopsweat]

A city crew that does not have a radio or cell phone amongst them?

I hate to be the one to take the side of management BUT, once he took possession of the contraband firearm instead of securing in place and immediately notifying the chain of command or law enforcement he was in violation of the policy. The point could be argued that he had no intention of reporting, instead intended to keep the found property, and only later had a change of heart.

Had the gun had been used in recent crime, once he touched it evidence was destroyed.

From http://www.myfoxdetroit.com/dpp/new...ired-after-finding-gun-on-the-job-20120514-ms :

John Chevilott found a gun, secured it, brought it back to the road yard in Westland, which is Wayne County property, before he turned it into police.

So it looks like the policy violation occurred when he brought it to the road yard, not when he picked it up. But I get what you're saying.

I have no idea whether he meant to keep it. It was a really dumb move not to call it in, but I hate to see him loose his job over it. 23 years in, 2 to go. What were you thinking?

 

[SharpsDressedMan]

Just think, if he had kept his mouth shut, and either left the gun in the bushes, or hidden it under his shirt, he would have fared better with management and kept his job. Neither the RIGHT thing to do, but either would have achieved more favorable results.

 

[TITAN308]

As the saying goes; No good deed goes unpunished.

 

[Agsalaska]

Just think, if he had kept his mouth shut, and either left the gun in the bushes, or hidden it under his shirt, he would have fared better with management and kept his job. Neither the RIGHT thing to do, but either would have achieved more favorable results.

True. Or he could have done what he should have done and contacted the police when he found it.

 

[mgkdrgn]

Why didn't he call the police, instead of waiting for them to drive by? Why would he take it home before taking it to the police instead of directly to the police on his way home? I think some of the facts may be missing here.

Ummm, because he had -other- things to do? Police response time in Detroit, for an ACTIVE CRIME, is like 22 minutes. How many days would he have sat around waiting for them to show up?

 

[Claude Clay]

i weighted the thought that he took it home with 'other' thoughts; but so many knew he had it that , well that don't fly.
though what I'm gonna say may sound cold--he's perhaps not all that quick on his feet...
23 years as a grounds keeper, perhaps he was saved from the horrible effects of the peter principal only to suffer in the home stretch from a terminal (sic) case of the not to brights

i do not think he thought with malice. he just did not think the discovery and the process through well.

---------------
Archie Bunker is not a wholely fictional character

 

[SharpsDressedMan]

^^^So, he then came clean, and his reward was firing? Why not slap him on the hand, give him a written reprimand, thank him for being honest and triumphing over his initial improper actions, and move on? What a moral boost (in an otherwise pit of a city) that might have been for the rest of the employees! .........."The beatings will continue until morale improves!"

 

[mdauben]

I agree that the guy's resonse to finding the gun may have been... less than optimal. I don't see that it justifed firing him, though. Assuming it was the innocent mistake it appears, I hope his lawyer sues him up a good retirement fund.

 

[T Bran]

Someone higher up had a nephew,son in law or whatever that needed a job is more than likely the case. I seriously doubt that finding a gun and keeping it untill you could get some opinions on the best course of action [overnite] is the true reason he was let go.
By the same logic he may have PO'ed some one in the past who was laying for him.
I think he did the community a favor by keeping it out of the hands of their children.
T

 

[Agsalaska]

Someone higher up had a nephew,son in law or whatever that needed a job is more than likely the case.

Easy type of excuse to sell but very rarely is it actually applied. Same goes for the 'he was overpaid and nearing retirement so we had to get rid of him and bring in someone cheaper' argument. These are both very typical arguments used by labour against management to justify situations just like this. But rarelyt is it the actual reason someone is let go. But it sure can make you feel better.

They have a strict rule against guns as stated. It is a non negotiable term offense. Very similar to drug abuse in most companies. He violated it. He carried a gun at work for a portion of his day. Nothing else matters. His age, race, how long he had been there, or what the circumstances were. He found a gun, picked it up, and carried it at work. If they make an exception for him then there entire basis for a non negotiable stance goes away.

I feel bad for the guy too and feel sorry for him. But dont blame management and use these old stale arguments to defend a guy for making a stupid decision. He put himself in a position to get fired.

On a side note, I am not arguing that the rule against firearm possession is a good one. But it was the rule.

 

[T Bran]

Yeah I'm with ya just leave them where they lay if you find them.
Kids need something to play with.
If there was any malice on his part there wouldnt have been a report to his supervisor.
While I agree that the rules apply to all some miniscule ammount of common sense should be applied on occasion.
If you contact the police and stand guard over the gun till they show up you have taken both responsibility for and posession of the gun. I guess either way you are doomed.
T

 

[Agsalaska]

Yeah I'm with ya just leave them where they lay if you find them.
Kids need something to play with.
If there was any malice on his part there wouldnt have been a report to his supervisor.
While I agree that the rules apply to all some miniscule ammount of common sense should be applied on occasion.
If you contact the police and stand guard over the gun till they show up you have taken both responsibility for and posession of the gun. I guess either way you are doomed.
T

First, I wouldnt advocate leaving it where you found it either.

And I do agree that a certain amount of common sense should be able to be applied as well. Unfortunately the employee showed none. Therefore the employer didnt either.

I totally disagree with the last part. Just because you call the police and stand near it to keep kids, if there were any, back does NOT mean you have taken both responsibility and possession of the gun. That is completely false.

I would imagine if he picked it up(which is stupid), unloaded it, and set it back down to call the police, the employers would have had a better opportunity to show the common sense you are referring to. I am not saying they would, but it would be a different scenario.

 

[T Bran]

Please realise that one becomes quite jaded in my part of the country S Fla. Chronyism and kick backs to ones employer are so rampant that if you try to direct deposit a payroll check into more than one account the payroll companies wont do it without a notarised letter from your bank stating that it is actually your account.
I am no stranger to the things citys/countys and private companies do to working folks as I have watched time and again the same things happen.
As for standing guard it was merely a demonstration of how ludicrusly ridgid rules can be interpeted. Should have put a smiley after that.
Cant wait to get out of this third world dung heap but I'm stuck here a bit longer.
T

 

[Agsalaska]

Please realise that one becomes quite jaded in my part of the country S Fla. Chronyism and kick backs to ones employer are so rampant that if you try to direct deposit a payroll check into more than one account the payroll companies wont do it without a notarised letter from your bank stating that it is actually your account.
I am no stranger to the things citys/countys and private companies do to working folks as I have watched time and again the same things happen.
As for standing guard it was merely a demonstration of how ludicrusly ridgid rules can be interpeted. Should have put a smiley after that.
Cant wait to get out of this third world dung heap but I'm stuck here a bit longer.
T

Fair enough.