College hazing case lingers in limbo

College hazing case lingers in limbo
Published: June 21, 2007
By ALISHA WYMAN
The Union Democrat

Five months after a party where several Columbia College Fire Department firefighters allegedly hazed another firefighter, the Tuolumne County District Attorney hasn't given word on whether he will file charges.
The office is still working with county sheriff's investigators in wrapping up their work, District Attorney Donald Segerstrom said.
"There are a whole bunch of factors that go into a decision on whether or not you should charge someone with a crime," Segerstrom said.
A 19-year-old Stockton student told deputies in January that other firefighters forced him to drink large quantities of beer, then kicked and punched him during a Jan. 15 off-campus party.
He also alleged he and other firefighters on probationary status — or those relatively new to the department — have been previously harassed.
Hazing is a crime, as noted in the California Penal Code. It can be charged as a misdemeanor or felony, depending on the extent of physical injuries to a victim.
Meanwhile, as time passes, interest in the college's Fire Department program has waned and concerns about firefighter response are growing, area fire officials said.
"It is a disappointment that this process has taken as long as it has," college spokesman Doug Lau said. "I think everyone's waiting for a final decision, and we have no indication what it is now."

Investigations ongoing
The Sheriff's Office has completed its investigation but it is still working with the District Attorney's Office, said sheriff's spokesman Lt. Dan Bressler.
It's not unusual to have a "case of this magnitude" take weeks or months before the district attorney makes a decision, he said. Bressler would not specify exactly how many firefighters are being investigated.
"It takes time to review this many reports and this many interviews and this much evidence," he said. "I can't speak for them, but I'm sure they're trying to be thorough."
Segerstrom added that his staff members are "still digging" through information before they come to a conclusion.
Elsewhere, Cal Fire's own investigation into the incidents is in its final stages, said Dennis Townsend, Cal Fire Law Enforcement/Fire Prevention Bureau chief.
Cal Fire/Tuolumne County Fire Department oversees the college fire program in cooperation with Columbia College.
Rather than the criminal aspect of the case, Townsend said his concern is whether firefighters violated government code and department policy that prohibits any action that discredits the department or the profession.
Townsend said he hopes to present his findings to Cal Fire Tuolumne-Calaveras Unit Chief Mike Noonan and Cal Fire Battalion Chief Julie Henriques by Friday.
Noonan and Henriques will review Townsend's report and decide if the allegations are warranted. If so, the students could face penalties ranging from warning letters to being kicked out of the program.
The department will also look at what will become of the college's fire house program, he said.
Townsend was confident that it will continue in some form, due to its success in training firefighters.
"We know that supervision is a key element that has to be addressed," he said.
It's taken Townsend some time to complete the investigation both because of his other responsibilities and the complicated college case.
He had to conduct 21 interviews and cross reference them.
"It's a very lengthy process," he said. "I have to go statement by statement in each of the hour-to-two-hour interviews and compare them to previous interviews."
It's important to make sure his findings are accurate, Townsend said.
"People's careers are determined by things like this, and we want to protect them to the greatest extent possible," he said.

On hold
The program remains on restriction until the investigations conclude, Tuolumne County Fire Marshal Kary Hubbard said.
"(It's) just kind of in a holding pattern because you don't want to do anything to interfere with the investigation," she said.
It does hurt the county's efforts in responding to fires or medical calls to not have those firefighters available, Hubbard conceded.
"Not having staff always affects everyone," she said, adding that the Air Base in Columbia can alleviate some of that concern.
The county as a whole is short on volunteers.
"Every fire I go to there are less and less volunteers, and they haven't upped any of the paid staff for so many years," she said. "You're starting to worry about safety."
Townsend, too, agreed that not having the college's firefighters available has an impact on fire services.
"I don't think anyone likes it, but that's how it is," he said.
Caron Cavalero is among those frustrated over the college department's inability to respond to calls.
At midnight Tuesday, a fire broke out on an empty lot above her property on the 22400 block of Gunsight Road, about a mile from the college.
She called 911 and went outside to spray with a hose, but the fire was growing closer.
"I felt like I was under an umbrella of embers," she said, adding that she was growing increasingly upset that no one had arrived.
Cavalero made four calls to 911 and about 20 minutes passed before firefighters arrived, she said.
By this time, she and her 17-year-old son were evacuating.
"I really thought: ‘I'm going to have to get my kid out of here, and I'm going to come back to nothing but ashes,' " she said.
Cavalero drove to the Columbia College firehouse and knocked on the door to ask why firefighters never came.
The firefighter who answered explained the restriction.
Cavalero is angry that firefighters trained to respond to emergencies like hers weren't allowed to, regardless of the alleged hazing.
"My understanding is that the situation had nothing to do with them as firefighters and everything to do with them being idiot college boys," she said.
Firefighter numbers fall
In the wake of the investigation, enrollment in the program is down.
There were 18 volunteers in the program around the time of the allegations. The program now has three, college officials said.
The college is currently recruiting and has had some interest, college spokesman Lau said.
Some of the decline is because school is out of session and some student firefighters have graduated, Townsend said. But students who might have applied for the program to replace them are likely seeking employment elsewhere due to the restriction, he said.
"They're looking for that practical experience they go straight into" he said.
The declining membership worries college officials, Lau said.
"It's an issue that really is shedding not a very good light on the whole program, and this is a program that has been around for 30 years," he said. "And it's done so much good for the community."

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