Firefighter faced charges

A Spokane firefighter who resigned last month after having on-duty sex with a 16-year-old girl previously sent pictures of himself engaged in sex acts with other women over the Internet while at work, according to city records ordered released Wednesday.

Daniel W. Ross faced five counts of “conduct unbecoming an officer” and two additional counts of violating city policy by using the city’s computer network to access or transmit obscene, profane or pornographic material. The 35-year-old firefighter resigned his $63,769-a-year job on March 8, one day before a hearing into his conduct at Fire Station No. 17 on Feb. 10.

Ross, an 11-year department veteran, confessed to the conduct when police detectives went to the fire station on Feb. 11 after interviewing the girl. Detectives who looked at photographs of the sex acts concluded the conduct was consensual and not a “rape” as the girl’s boyfriend initially had reported to police. Police directed the deletion of the photos from Ross’ digital camera.

When Ross was interviewed by senior Fire Department officials, he “intimated that sex in the (city’s fire) stations is a widespread practice, that he can ‘blow the whistle’ on things,” the city documents say. But other firefighters interviewed said they hadn’t witnessed such behavior.

Superior Court Judge Kathleen O’Connor ordered the records released after Firefighters Local 29 took legal action last week to prevent the City Attorney’s Office from providing them to The Spokesman-Review under the state’s Open Records Act. Ruling from the bench, O’Connor said the city’s investigation – separate from an ongoing police criminal investigation – clearly should be made available to the public. The conduct involved public resources, a public employee and possible criminal conduct during work time in a publicly owned facility, the judge said.

Firefighters union President Greg Borg said the local wouldn’t appeal the ruling. Five hours later, the documents were released at City Hall.

The file includes statements from Fire Capt. Pat Maggart, Station No. 17’s commanding officer, and fellow firefighter Mike Lappano. They were working the same shift with Ross, who was working a fill-in shift away from his regular firehouse, Station No. 13 at Wellesley and Jefferson.

Maggart and Lappano both said they were unaware of Ross’ sexual encounter and didn’t know the girl had been in the firehouse until police showed up.

“If a guy wants to be sneaky, he can be sneaky,” Maggart said in response to investigators’ questions. “I feel like he betrayed me and Mike, and (it) makes us look pretty bad.”

Maggart told senior Fire Department officers that he heard about a firefighter having sex in a private car parked at a fire station “many years ago” but discounted Ross’ claim that sexual acts in city firehouses was common.

Ross faced five counts of conduct unbecoming an officer or city employee:

“He used a wireless Internet connection at Station 13 for “unauthorized activities.”

“He used a wireless Internet connection and his personal laptop to transmit to third parties “pictures of yourself engaged in sexual acts with women.”

“While on duty, he used a wireless Internet connection to “engage in online sexual conversations.”

“While on duty on Feb. 10, he engaged “in sexual intercourse with a female visitor” and photographed the activity with his personal camera.

“He allowed for a “breach of security” at the fire station while he “engaged in sexual activity with the female visitor.”

During his interview with Fire Department command staff, Ross was asked: “What was your plan if you had to respond to an alarm?” He answered: “I didn’t have one, ‘cause it (the sexual encounter) wasn’t planned to happen.”

Fire Capt. Dan Daniels, who worked with Ross at Fire Station No. 13, also was questioned about Ross’ use of his personal computer, the city documents show.

Daniels said he frequently saw Ross using a computer, including his personal laptop, at Station 13. “I never saw him on an illicit site or any other employee,” Daniels is quoted as saying.

Daniels also was asked about Ross’ claim that on-duty sex is “widespread” in the city’s fire stations and that he “could blow the whistle” on others.

“He can ‘blow’ all he wants,” Daniels told investigators. “I have not seen it. But it could happen anywhere, (even) here at City Hall. There is a lot of square footage in those stations.”

In his interview, Ross admitted using the city-owned computer in Station 13 to visit adultfriendfinders.com, the Internet site where he eventually met the 16-year-old girl. After online exchanges, the two also exchanged phone text messages before meeting face-to-face for the first time on Feb. 10 at Fire Station No. 17.

His fellow firefighters weren’t aware that she had sneaked into the firehouse and engaged in consensual sex, Ross told his commanding officers.

Ross’ pregnant wife and young daughter had visited him at the station just a few hours earlier, and the trio watched Winter Olympics coverage on TV before they left, according to the city report.

Ross said he didn’t intend to have sex with the 16-year-old. “I was just going to meet her,” he said. “I hadn’t planned on it. I knew it was wrong.”

In her decision Wednesday, O’Connor also ruled that Ross’ statements during the investigation were not confidential despite a formal agreement between the union and the city.

The so-called “Garrity” rights require as a condition of employment that firefighters must answer questions triggered by misconduct investigations. But the agreement says that answers obtained from the interviews cannot later be used against union members in a criminal proceeding.

The union agreement “cannot trump matters of public policy … the (state’s) Public Disclosure law is required to be construed liberally,” O’Connor said.