Official loses misconduct appeal

Update April 6 Mark Stahl served his suspension immediately after the original board hearing and he remains an employee of the fire department, department Chief Mike Musolf said. Original post GENOA — An Ottawa County fire battalion chief was found guilty of an administrative misconduct charge for an incident that occurred at the scene of a medical emergency he was present at. Mark Stahl, who is a battalion chief at the Allen-Clay Joint Fire District, appealed the joint fire district board's decision to find him guilty of misconduct for failing to report a violation of medical procedures at an incident Aug. 9, 2018, in Williston. As a result, Stahl — who also serves as an elected Ottawa County commissioner — was issued a 60-day unpaid suspension with a one-year probation period. He also must complete a leadership course. Stahl appealed that decision to the Ottawa County Court of Common Pleas. A visiting judge largely upheld the board's ruling, and Stahl then appealed to the Sixth District Appeals Court. On Friday, the Sixth District court upheld the common pleas court ruling. Background On Aug. 9, 2018, eight fire department employees responded to a report of an unresponsive elderly man at a home in Williston, which is in western Ottawa County, according to an appeals court document. Stahl, an intermediate-level EMT, was the highest-ranking department member at the scene. While attending to the unresponsive man, Stahl unsuccessfully attempted to place an IV in the man's arm. An alternative to an IV is a process called "intraosseous infusion" — or "IO," for short — which involves drilling into a patient's bone to inject medicine into their bone marrow. Only two people at the scene — Stahl and a paramedic, Cara Orra — were certified to do an IO, the court record states. Another first responder, Justin Frank, an EMT with basic-level certification, ended up performing the IO, which he was not permitted to do. Frank's attempt to do an IO was successful, but the patient later died in a hospital. The man's death is not attributed to any fault on the part of the fire department, the court record states. In a "patient care report" detailing the incident, Orra listed herself as the person who completed the IO, and not Frank, the court record states. Stahl later said he didn't review this patient care report. Another fire department employee later learned of the discrepancy, which sparked an investigation. The incident was investigated by David Comstock Jr., an attorney and fire chief in Mahoning County. Board hearing In the course of the investigation, several people testified that Stahl ordered Frank to perform the IO. During the course of an eight-hour hearing, in front of the fire district's board on Aug. 29, 2019, witnesses provided conflicting evidence as to who ordered the IO, according to court records and a transcript of the board's hearing. Ultimately, the board found Stahl not guilty of a second charge, misfeasance, arguing that there wasn't enough evidence to show Stahl ordered the EMT to perform the IO procedure. The board also heard testimony from Orra and Frank, negotiating agreements with them to "admit" — essentially, plead no contest — to certain charges, the transcript states. Orra admitted to one count of misfeasance and was issued a 45-day unpaid suspension with mandated continuing education. Frank admitted to one count of malfeasance and was issued a 90-day unpaid suspension with mandated continuing education. The board also agreed to remove the disciplinary actions from Orra's and Frank's personnel files after one year. During the hearing, Stahl argued that the Aug. 9, 2018, incident was chaotic and that he was focusing on saving the patient's life and did not know the IO procedure was being done by an EMT who didn't have the proper certification. Comstock argued that Stahl was in charge of the scene and should have known what happened and addressed it after the fact. The board determined Stahl failed to properly handle the incident administratively and imposed its sanctions. The board also agreed to eventually remove the discipline from Stahl's personnel file also, according to the appeals court document. Appeal In the appeal to the Sixth District court, Stahl's attorney argued that Stahl did not know Frank had done the IO procedure and should not have been found guilty of misconduct. The appeals court disagreed. "The board found — and the trial court agreed — that the evidence demonstrated Stahl was aware (Frank) performed the IO, even if he did not direct him to do so", Judge Christine Mayle wrote in the court's opinion. "According to various testimony and evidence before the board, the team had worked in very close quarters (and) the only other person certified to perform the procedure (Orra) was within Stahl's line of sight trying to intubate the patient." Mayle wrote that the appeals court cannot say the county common pleas court abused its discretion in finding Stahl guilty and denied the appeal. "The board had before it evidence that Stahl was obligated to supervise firefighters and EMTs at an emergency scene, and he was required to report improper conduct to his superior and to the State Board of Emergency Medical Services and the Northwest Ohio EMS Consortium," she said. "Although contested, there was reliable, probative and substantial evidence that Stahl knew or should have known that improper conduct took place at the scene of an emergency and he failed to report that conduct." Stahl's current job status at the fire department is not known.