Firefighter resigns over sex with teen accusation
By John Vlahovich
Spokane Public Radio
A Spokane firefighter who admitted having sex with a 16-year-old has resigned. Meanwhile, members of the Spokane Women’s Coalition called Wednesday – International Women’s Day – for an outside investigation into police department procedures – and greater sensitivity to women by Spokane’s leadership.
Spokane firefighter Daniel Ross resigned after being told he faced disciplinary action, including possibly being fired. He was to have faced a formal disciplinary hearing Thursday.
Ross admitted to a sexual liaison with the teen-ager Feb.10th while he was on duty at a north side fire station.
Meanwhile, a police internal investigation dealing with destruction of photos taken during that liaison continues
But a local women’s group wants more.
Members of the Spokane Women’s Coalition say deletion of the firefighter’s photos, reported to be sexually explicit, harkens back to the era when men ran things and protected one another.
Co-chair Kathryn Graham says this shows that more women are needed in leadership posts.
“If there were more women in decision making, more women in government, in the fire department, and in the police department, and if the men and women that are in the departments took some sensitivity training and some kind of courses in women’s studies and had an understanding of women being equal to men, then things would be different,” Graham says.
The coalition today called for terminating the firefighter, and – if internal investigation findings warrant – demoting or firing of the officers who permitted the photo destruction.
Spokane Mayor Dennis Hession agrees that police mishandled evidence in allowing the deletion of the digital photos. Still, he says, “…based upon what the prosecutor has told us that that in no way compromised any of the potential charges that could have been brought against the firefighter – criminal charges – but nevertheless, in terms of good police procedure, those things were not followed the way they should have done.”
However, Hession questions the coalition’s accusation that his administration is not sensitive to women’s concerns. He says he would welcome the chance to talk about any specific issues they have.