Drug Policy Called Inconsistent : Hearing Held on Fireman’s Termination

A discharged San Diego fire captain, whose home was allegedly used as a methamphetamine laboratory, appeared at an administrative hearing Friday in an attempt to win his job back.

His lawyer charged that the Fire Department is inconsistent in applying its drug policy.

Ronald Cervantes, a former captain in the fire prevention unit, was fired in December based on information from a police undercover drug investigation and for driving a city vehicle while under the influence of a controlled substance, for which he was cited, Asst. Fire Chief Donald Farney told the city’s Civil Service Commission, which conducted the hearing.

Farney said that Cervantes denied all of the accusations at a fact-finding hearing the Fire Department held in September. But, even if he had admitted to having had a drug problem, he would have been terminated because of the severity of the alleged offenses, Farney said.

The department has a policy of assisting firefighters who come forward with drug problems, and places them in assistance programs. Firefighters who deny having a problem but are later found to have one, or who have not tried to enter an assistance program on their own, are “generally” terminated, Farney said.

Joel Klevens, Cervantes’ attorney, attacked the department for not applying the policy uniformly. Klevens argued that most firefighters are unaware of the policy because it is “not in writing and not specifically communicated.”

Last week, Klevens was able to persuade the commission--in the case of firefighter Vincent Lee Stevenson--that the department’s system was “inequitable.” The commission placed Stevenson on suspension until July 16, then ordered that he be given his job back July 17.

Cervantes, Stevenson, Capt. George V. Jessup and firefighter Charles Rowe were indicted on federal drug charges in 1988. All appealed the disciplinary action taken against them by the Fire Department. Two of the appeals are pending, with commission hearings scheduled this month and in August.

Cervantes’ hearing was continued until July 26. The federal charges against him have been deferred for one year, Klevens said. If he has no criminal violations during that time, the charges will be dismissed, Klevens said.