ASSOCIATION IS CALLING OUT AUSTIN'S FIRE CHIEF. ITS FEMALE MEMBERSHIP AND
PRESIDENT -- DON'T THINK
HE CAN LEAD WHEN IT COMES TO
GENDER HARASSMENT
ISSUES.
KVUE'S JENNI LEE JOINS US NOW.
JENNI.. TELL US ABOUT
THEIR CONCERNS WITH THE CHIEF.
IT ALL GOES BACK TO THE ANTI
GENDER HARASSMENT TRAINING CLASS, FIREFIGHTER,
CHRISTINE JONES, WAS
TEACHING LAST YEAR.
HOW SHE SAYS, A FELLOW
FIREFIGHTER USED SEXIST
AND DEROGATORY LANGUAGE
THROUGHOUT
THE DAY.
THAT FIREFIGHTER NEVER GOT THE
PUNISHMENT
JONES SAYS SHE FELT HE DESERVED
-- BECAUSE CHIEF
JOEL BAKER INTERVENED.
AND JONES AND THE UNION WERE
SURPRISED TO
HEAR THE CITY MANAGER IS BACKING
THE CHIEF.
THE CHIEF. WHAT HAPPENED INSIDE THE ROY
BUTLER
BUTLER TRAINING BUILDING IN OCTOBER OF 2018... STILL HAUNTS CHRISTINE JONES.
"HE BEGINS LOBBING SEXIST
COMMENTS AT ME FROM ACROSS THE
ROOM."
BECAUSE SHE'S STILL TALKING
ABOUT IT. HERE, TO PUBLIC SAFETY
COMMISSIONERS JUST LAST
WEEK.
"HE JUST CONTINUED THIS ALL DAY
LONG. THEY ESCALATED
AND THEY WERE ALL OBVIOUSLY
HARASSMENT BASED ON MY
GENDER. IT WAS VERY CLEAR. IT
WAS INSINUATING ALL I WANTED TO
TALK ABOUT WAS HAIR, MAKE UP OR
CLOTHES. SAYING I SHOULD BE
DOING
THE CLEANING BECAUSE THE WOMEN
SHOULD BE DOING THE
CLEANING."
IRONICALLY, JONES WAS TEACHING
AN ANTI-GENDER
HARASSMENT TRAINING CLASS WHEN
THIS HAPPENED.
WHEN SHE SAYS FELLOW CAPTAIN
ROGER SCARSCLIFF
DEMEANED HER IN FRONT OF HER OWN
COLLEAGUES.
"THE NEXT DAY, I WAS GOING TO BE
TEACHING THEM A CLASS BETWEEN
TWO VERY DEGRADING WORDS THAT
ARE USED TOWARDS
WOMEN, THAT I WOULD BE TEACHING
A CLASS THE DIFFERENCE
BETWEEN
BETWEEN THOSE TWO TERMS." "OBVIOUSLY I WAS VERY UPSET. THEY LEFT FOR THE DAY AND I
CRIED IN THE
BATHROOM."
CAPTAIN SCARSCLIFF ENDED UP
GETTING A DAY
OFF AS HIS DISCIPLINE AFTER FIRE
CHIEF JOEL
BAKER INTERVENED AND CALLED IT
HORSEPLAY.
DESPITE DEPARTMENT INVESTIGATORS
FINDING THAT
SCARSCLIFF VIOLATED ITS GENDER
HARASSMENT
POLICY.
HARASSMENT POLICY. FAST FORWARD TO TUESDAY WHERE A
SPOKESPERSON
FOR THE CHIEF NOW SAYS HE
"EMPHATICALLY REGRETS" USING
THE TERM HORSEPLAY.
AND A CITY SPOKESPERSON SENT
KVUE A STATEMENT THAT
READS IN PART...
"GENDER DISCRIMINATION IN ANY
FORM IS TOTALLY
UNACCEPTABLE, AND THAT THE CITY
MANAGER HAS
CONFIDENCE IN CHIEF BAKER'S
ABILITY TO TACKLE IT."
THAT DOESN'T SIT WELL WITH
JONES.
"WHEN THE FIRE CHIEF MAKES THE
WRONG DECISION AND THE CITY
MANAGER BACKS HIM, WHAT DO YOU
DO? THIS IS SENDING A
MESSAGE TO THE FIRE DEPARTMENT,
ESPECIALLY THE WOMEN IN THE FIRE
DEPARTMENT, THAT WE DON'T REALLY
TAKE IT QUITE THAT SERIOUSLY."
BOB NICKS IS THE PRESIDENT OF
THE AUSTIN FIREFIGHTERS
ASSOCIATION.
HE SAYS IT SENDS THE WRONG
MESSAGE.
"WE SHOULD BE ADMITTING OUR
MISTAKES, WE SHOULD BE
FINDING THE BEST WAYS TO SOLVE
IT, WE SHOULD ATONE FOR WHAT
WE'VE
DONE AND WE SHOULD MOVE FORWARD
BUT WHEN YOU DOUBLE
DOWN AND SAY YOU THINK CHIEF
BAKER HAS THE ABILITY TO TACKLE
THIS PROBLEM, WHAT MESSAGE IS IT
SENDING TO THE FEMALES THAT
KNOW IT ISN'T BEING HANDLED
CORRECTLY? IT GIVES THEM VERY
LITTLE HOPE IT'S GOING TO BE
BETTER IN THE FUTURE."
PUBLIC SAFETY COMMISSIONER,
MEGHAN
MEGHAN HOLLIS, SAYS SHE'S HEARD FROM SEVERAL FIREFIGHTERS AND RECOGNIZES CHANGE NEEDS TO
HAPPEN.
"IF I WERE A WOMAN LOOKING FOR A
JOB IN ANY OF THE PUBLIC
SAFETY AGENCIES RIGHT NOW, I
WOULD BE LOOKING AT THIS
CLIMATE. I WOULD BE LOOKING AT
THE WOMEN COMING FORWARD AND
SAYING THIS HAPPENED TO ME, THEY
DIDN'T LISTEN TO ME, LIKE WE
HEARD IN OUR LAST PUBLIC SAFETY
COMMISSION MEETING, THEY
DIDN'T EVEN LABEL IT HARASSMENT
ONCE IT HIT THE CHIEF, THAT'S
PROBLEMATIC IT NEEDS TO STOP."
THE
THE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMISSION HAS RECOMMENDED A LIST OF REFORMS FOR THE COUNCIL TO
IMPLEMENT AT THE AUSTIN FIRE
DEPARTMENT.
DEPARTMENT. THEY ARE ASKING THAT VICTIMS BE
ALLOWED TO ADDRESS THE CHAIN OF COMMAND
DURING THE
DISCIPLINARY PROCESS, JUST LIKE
THE ACCUSED IS
ALLOWED RIGHT NOW;
THEY ALSO WANT VICTIMS TO BE
ALLOWED TO HAVE A UNION
REPRESENTATIVE DURING THE
DISCIPLINARY PROCESS;
AND THEY'RE ASKING FOR VICTIMS
TO BE ALLOWED A
SUPERVISOR WHO IS THE SAME SEX.
WE'VE ALSO REACHED OUT TO EVERY
SINGLE COUNCIL MEMBER.
THE ONES WHO RESPONDED AND THEIR
RESPONSES ARE
AT KVUE.COM
AT KVUE.COM