was 14 years old.
urged him to cease and desist the
name-calling and other abuse to no
avail. Tyndall then complained to
Simpson, Donohue and ultimately
Fitzgerald, but the abuse and har-
assment allegedly continued. Frus-
trated with the lack of action, Tyndall
ultimately took his grievances to
Mayor Gee Williams and the town's
human resources director.
town's elected officials voted to pull
the municipal funding for its fire de-
partment last summer.
County Circuit Court against the
town of Berlin and its elected offi-
cials over his abrupt dismissal from
the department amid allegations of
harassment and intimidation in a
case that essentially boiled down to
a debate over who has authority to
discipline or dismiss fire department
employees.
is now in the Maryland Court of
Special Appeals.
assment was a calculated effort on
the part of the department's leader-
ship to coerce Tyndall to leave the
ual orientation.
defendants to harass and intimidate
Zack Tyndall and drive him from the
department because of the individ-
ual defendants' perception of his
sexual orientation," the complaint
reads. "Many of the acts complain-
ed of were witnessed by other mem-
bers of the Berlin Fire Company.
Most were reported to the leader-
ship of the company and many
were, in fact, committed by the lead-
ership of the company."
ment fell on deaf ears, he turned to
the town for relief, which only exac-
erbated the problem, according to
the complaint.
cult than before," the complaint
reads. "The insults, derogatory
comments and other harassment in-
creased in severity and number."
ing as an on-duty paramedic, re-
sponded to what turned out to be a
fatal accident on Route 50. Tyndall
arrived and immediately began ad-
ministering assistance to a passen-
ger involved and had to "bag
breathe" the victim to maintain res-
piration. Tyndall continued to bag
breathe the victim, who had to be
mately able to get him onto a
stretcher. However, the complaint
filed this week alleges members of
the BFC who responded to the acci-
dent essentially turned their collec-
tive backs on Tyndall's efforts.
ambulance, members of the Berlin
Fire Company on scene refused to
assist him in moving the stretcher to
the ambulance," the complaint
reads. "Tyndall was able to get the
patient to the ambulance by bag
breathing the patient with one hand
and pushing the stretcher with the
other."
the ambulance, BFC members on
hand allegedly refused to drive the
ambulance to the hospital. Ultimate-
ly, a Berlin Police officer on scene
drove the ambulance to the hospi-
tal.
for Emergency Medical Services
Systems (MIEMSS) revealed no
wrongdoing on the part of the BFC
in the handling of the incident,
although the investigator in the case
did warn the "underlying tensions
between the company and the town
of Berlin are a cause for concern."
for comment.
pute between Berlin and its fire
company when a former firefighter
and EMT filed an $8 million civil suit
against the department over an al-
leged pattern of harassment and in-
timidation over his perceived sexual
orientation.
James Otway, filed suit in U.S. District
Court alleging consistent harassment
and intimidation carried out by the de-
partment's leadership over his per-
ceived sexual orientation. The suit,
which names the Berlin Fire Com-
pany, Chief Bryon Trimble, Assistant
Chief Derrick Simpson, former EMS
Supervisor Norris Donohue Jr. and
BFC President David Fitzgerald as
defendants, is seeking $2 million in
compensatory damages and another
$6 million in punitive damages.
conscious effort" to harass and in-
timidate Tyndall in an attempt to
drive him out of the department be-
cause of the defendants' perception
of Tyndall's sexual orientation. The
alleged pattern of abuse included
repeated derogatory slurs and a
pattern of offenses aimed at driving
Tyndall to quit the department he
had been a full-time employee of
you in your investment. As leaders in resort new construction
sales, we offer the very best in service and experience."
Dan Clayland, Project Manager