Fire chief ruling appealed

After an hour-long executive session Friday, the Eunice Board of Aldermen voted to appeal a civil service decision to reinstate Mike Arnold as fire chief.
The Jan. 14 termination of Arnold now goes to district court.
Mayor Rusty Moody recommended Arnold’s reinstatement after the closed meeting, but Jack Burson, alderman at-large, moved to appeal the Eunice Fire and Police Civil Service Board’s decision.
Arnold lost his job after aldermen voted 4-0 to back Mayor Rusty Moody’s recommendation to terminate the fire chief.
On April 1, the five-member civil service panel voted unanimously that Arnold’s rights had been violated in the process leading up to his termination.
Specifically, the civil service panel voted Arnold had not been given a pre-disciplinary hearing or allowed to produce his own witnesses.
Vernon McManus, city attorney, said the civil service board did not find there was insufficient evidence to terminate Arnold, “What they said was the procedure to terminate him was not properly followed.”
Arnold ran into trouble after he was accused in October of slapping a 33-year-old female volunteer on her buttocks area. The incident reportedly occurred during a break in a fire prevention presentation at Glendale Elementary.
On Jan. 26, Arnold pleaded no contest to simple battery. A no contest plea does not admit guilt.
City Judge Terry Hoychick sentenced Arnold to pay a $150 fine, $155.50 in court costs and six months. The fine and jail time were suspended and Arnold was given one year of unsupervised probation.
Also, Arnold was ordered to pay $150 to the Criminal Court Fund to defray cost of court operation and to complete five eight-hour days of community service by Feb. 26. The court did not specify the kind of community service.
The maximum penalty for simple battery is six months and $1,000.
Arnold, a former fire chief in Basile, was hired as fire chief in Eunice in November 2011.
Arnold declined to comment after the civil service board vote. Arnold’s attorney was pleased with the outcome.
In a separate case, the civil service board is scheduled to meet at 5 p.m. Wednesday on the termination of Tayla Fruge, a former police officer.
Fruge was terminated May 13, 2014. A district judge upheld the termination ruling the city followed proper procedures. A 3rd Circuit Court of Appeal also upheld the termination and sent the case back to the civil service board for an evidentiary hearing.