Gary firefighter faces termination for taking picture of hospital patient

Contributed By:The 411 News

The Gary Fire Civil Service Commission has finished the 3rd week of hearing competing claims of City of Gary Fire Dept. vs. Firefighter Tyrone Jackson and Firefighter Tyrone Jackson vs. Gary Fire Chief Sean O'Donnell.

Both complaints are combined into a single hearing.

The case against Firefighter Jackson, a member of the department since 2018, stems from a cell phone photo he took of a patient in the Methodist Hospital Emergency Room. Chief O'Donnell is asking the fire commission to terminate Jackson for taking the photo and posting it on social media.

The department's claim is Jackson violated the privacy of the patient, "As health care providers, Gary Firefighters and EMTs are regulated under HIPAA. Gary Firefighters and EMTs subject the City of Gary to major liabilities by failing to follow the requirements to protect all protected information."

HIPAA, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act has a privacy rule that stipulates patient information cannot be shared electronically, physically or orally without the patient's approval.

The photo was taken in July 2020.

Jackson is also a licensed EMT, an Emergency Medical Technician, another duty he performs as a firefighter. And the photo Jackson took wasn't a patient he had transported to the hospital.

Chief O'Donnell initially pursued disciplinary action against Jackson with the Indiana Dept. of Homeland Security to have Jackson's EMT license revoked. Instead, Homeland Security imposed a $500 fine and 90-day suspension after its investigation found Jackson's photo wasn't the photo that was posted on social media.

Before the start of its hearings into the O'Donnell and Jackson complaints in April, the Gary Fire Commission approved the suspension but wouldn't approve GFD's request for the suspension without pay until the completion of its own hearing. Jackson was suspended on March 11 and is now on paid leave.

Jackson testified to the commission that he did take a picture of the patient and shared it with five other firefighters in a "text message but not on social media. When I heard about the photo of the patient posted on Facebook, I assumed it was the picture I took. I went to the department and told them I had taken a photo in the emergency room."

Jackson said he expected and was willing to accept disciplinary action. "I was told then, by our division of emergency services it would likely be a 10-day suspension."

In February, when Homeland Security’s investigation ended with a finding that the photo on Facebook wasn’t his photo, Jackson said he thought the matter was over until he learned the fire department was seeking his termination.

Jackson's claim against O'Donnell cites harassment. "I have been continually harassed since filing an EOC complaint, because of Chief O'Donnell's acts of discrimination against me trying to have my EMT certification suspended while seeking a way to terminate me."

Jackson asked the fire commission “to be restored to my earned position, cease the harassment/retaliation, any and all related documentation be removed from my files.”

The Gary Fire Commission is expected to announce its decision at an upcoming meeting this month.

Story Posted:05/09/2021