A report reveals Chicago fire officials covered up a supervisor found asleep while driving, prompting calls for firings.
The report said that when the supervisor was discovered, they were quickly whisked away by other fire officials who then lied about what really happened. Witzburg’s office wanted some serious action, pushing for the firing of three people involved in the cover-up. But the fire department didn’t go that far. They just gave out lighter punishments.
The incident happened back in May 2022 when a firetruck responded to a 911 call. They found the assistant deputy chief passed out at a traffic light. A captain and a firefighter-paramedic woke him up, but then things got shady. The captain told others to cancel an ambulance that was on its way and moved the supervisor to a personal vehicle instead.
To make matters worse, they wrote a false report claiming there was “no patient found at the scene.” After being driven back to the station, the supervisor took a nap for about 90 minutes. His spouse, who also worked there, was around too.
Some folks in the department said the supervisor was just really tired after a long shift and that they were just helping him out. There were even rumors that he might have been drunk, but investigators couldn’t prove that.
Witzburg was pretty firm about accountability, saying that everyone should be held to the same standards, no matter their rank. She pointed out that not holding people accountable is a betrayal of public trust.
This whole situation reminds people of a past incident involving a former Chicago Police Superintendent who was also found asleep in his vehicle after a night of drinking. In that case, several police officials faced suspensions.
The report also touched on other investigations into city employees who might have committed fraud during the pandemic relief efforts. Witzburg’s office found that some city workers got loans that raised red flags for fraud. They’re still looking into those cases, too.
