PHOTO BY JESSE DAVIS / THE VILLAGE REPORTER
ALLEGED FORGER FIRED … The Swanton Fire and Rescue Division is down a captain after Jeffrey Dawson was terminated by the Swanton Village Council following an internal investigation that reportedly determined he had forged the names of several other employees on run reports.
By: Jesse Davis
THE VILLAGE REPORTER
jesse@thevillagereporter.com
Swanton Fire and Rescue Division Captain Jeffrey Dawson has been fired from his position after an investigation reportedly discovered he had been forging other employees’ names on run reports.
According to the investigation report, authored by Village Solicitor R. Kent Murphree, Fire Chief Cuyler Kepling was initially approached on August 5 after Lieutenant Josh Heinemann discovered someone had forged his name on reports.
The report states that software used for the reports only allows the primary or secondary provider on a call to sign them, and Kepling noted Dawson was listed as the lead provider on the reports in question.
Further investigation by Kepling identified reports in which three other employees’ names had been forged, which they confirmed. The report states that Dawson was listed as the lead provider on all of those reports.
Murphree wrote that, based on that information, Kepling contacted him to determine how to move forward.
“It was determined that before reaching any conclusions, it was imperative that Mr. Dawson be given a meaningful opportunity to explain whether he signed the reports at issue … on behalf of other employees,” he wrote.
According to the report, Kepling and Murphree met with Dawson after confirming with the employees again that their signatures were indeed forged and not their own.
It states that Dawson was given a Garrity Warning, under which an employer can compel an employee to answer questions for the purpose of an internal investigation. Those answers cannot be used in a criminal case due to Fifth Amendment protections.
The report states that, during the interview, Dawson denied forging any of the signatures. He also allegedly confirmed that the signatures appeared different when provided sets of the true signatures next to a set of the forgeries.
Another employee reported, on the same day as the interview, that his signature had been forged on a report.
Dawson was again allegedly listed as the lead provider on that report. Two further employees later reported forgeries of their signatures on reports, on which Dawson was again reportedly listed as the lead provider.
Murphree wrote that one employee recanted their statement of their signature being forged after discovering Dawson was the one alleged to have done the forging.
“I have since learned that [the employee] is a close personal friend of Mr. Dawson’s girlfriend, which calls into question his recanting of his original protestations that the signatures were a forgery,” Murphree wrote.
He wrote that “common sense instructs that it is inappropriate to forge another employee’s signature where that signature is required,” but that it was also a violation of the employee handbook for engaging in unethical conduct and failing to satisfactorily perform required duties.
“Additionally, it is important to note that although this report is not intended to inform or make any recommendations regarding pursuit of criminal charges, it is likely that forging another individual’s name on an official government and medical record constitutes a violation of Ohio’s criminal code,” Murphree wrote.
At the end of the report, Murphree recommended that Dawson be fired and that Kepling contact the Ohio Department of Public Safety Division of Emergency Medical Services “to determine what, if any, reporting requirements may pertain to this matter.”
Kepling brought a recommendation to the Swanton Village Council at their September 8 meeting that Dawson be terminated, and council members voted unanimously to approve it.