A Detroit groundskeeper, who turned in a loaded handgun he found hidden in weeds while working, was fired by the Wayne County Department of Public Services, MyFoxDetroit.com reports.
John Chevilott, who is just two years shy of retirement, found the loaded snub-nosed revolver on May 3 when he and his crew were mowing a lawn in Wayne County. Chevilott secured the gun, waiting for police to drive by so he could hand it over to them.
Detroit police never did pass by, so Chevilott finished his work that day, drove the gun home and later that same evening turned it into his local police department.
He says the cops ran the gun and discovered the weapon had been stolen from St. Clair Shores in 2005.
“They said I did the right thing getting it off the street,” Chevilott told MyFoxDetroit.com.
However, Chevilott’s superiors at the Wayne County Department of Public Services had a much different opinion. His foreman, who had knowledge of the situation, was suspended for 30 days, and after 23 years on the job, Chevilott was fired for violating department policies.
According to a Wayne County spokeswoman and the rules, employees aren’t allowed to possess a weapon on work property.
Chevilott says he didn’t bring a weapon to work. He found it on the job.
“There is no policy. I’ve never seen a policy what to do if we find a gun out here. So, all I did was secure the situation to make sure nobody else got hurt or killed.”
“They did a good thing. They took a gun off the streets and they’re being punished,” said Local 101 President Thomas Richards.
Chevilott also was let go for insubordination and unauthorized access to the road yard.
Richards says he’s fighting all three accusations that are over the top and without merit.
“There’s never been any policy brought to light on what we should do when they find a weapon,” he told us.more
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Public Services
Administration 415 Clifford St., 8th Floor, Detroit, MI 48226 Engineering 415 Clifford St., 3rd Floor, Detroit, MI 48226 Buildings 640 Temple, Detroit, MI 48201 Engineering Field Office 33809 Michigan Avenue, Wayne, MI 48184 Road Maintenance 29900 Goddard Extension, Romulus, MI 48242 Environmental Services 415 Clifford St., 7th Floor, Detroit, MI 48226
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| John Chevilott was fired by Wayne County after he found a gun on the job and turned it into police. (WJBK/MyFoxDetroit.com) |
2 comments:
If anyone should be fired, it is the supervisors that decided to terminate this loyal, brave worker. The fact that they were privy to this policy (apparently for many years) and never brought it to their workers attention shows they have been negligent in their own responcibilities for as long as this policy has been in existance. Also, the fact that they have had many chances to inform everyone, they should be fired with no severance pay or benifits.
He and his foreman along with the union should submit a petition to change.org to make them get their jobs back with a commendation in their files for making sure the gun was properly handled.
It's ridiculous to be penalized for doing the only right thing. The police never came so he took it to them. Did his supervisors want him to leave the gun there for a child to find?
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