Bolivar assistant fire chief out after drunk driving conviction, retains street dept. job
BOLIVAR ‒ A village man is no longer the assistant chief of the Bolivar Volunteer Fire Department following his September arrest and January conviction for drunken driving.
Richard L. Wigfield Jr., 43, remains in his positions as a street department employee with the village and as a firefighter and paramedic with the Jackson Township Fire Department in Stark County.
Wigfield told The Times-Reporter that he "accomplished many great things" during his 17 years with the Bolivar fire agency.
"I just recently helped the department and Lawrence Township in the purchase of the new Ladder 109," he wrote in a Facebook message. "I regret leaving because of an OVI because it now overshadows all the good things in the last 17 years."
Bolivar Fire Chief Shawn Lynch told Wigfield he had been fired in a letter dated Jan. 19, after Wigfield failed to attend requested meetings on Jan. 16 and Jan. 19.
Wigfield said he chose not to attend.
Did not want subordinates choosing punishment
"I was informed that there was a meeting with all of the officers and they had decided I was going to be given the option to either quit, or be fired," he wrote. "I did not attend the meeting because I disagreed with subordinate officers choosing my punishment."
A Strasburg police officer charged Wigfield with three offenses after stopping his 2007 Chevrolet Tahoe for traveling 55 mph in a 35 mph zone at 10:27 p.m. Sept. 10: speeding, operating a vehicle while intoxicated and operating a vehicle with a blood alcohol content of 0.17% or more.
The legal blood alcohol limit is .08% in Ohio. A breath test given at the Dover Police Department showed a blood alcohol content of 0.184%, more than twice the legal driving limit.
In New Philadelphia Municipal Court, Wigfield pleaded no contest to operating a vehicle while intoxicated. Magistrate Christine Weimer found him guilty and dismissed the other two charges.
How much does a DUI cost?
For operating a vehicle while intoxicated, Wigfield's first such offense, Weimer ordered him to pay a total of $866 in fines and fees. The defendant completed a drivers' intervention program in place of a three-day jail sentence. Weimer suspended 177 days of a 180-day jail sentence. Weimer ordered Wigfield to perform 40 hours of community service or pay $400 in its place. Other penalties included a one-year license suspension, to Sept. 10 of this year.
Wigfield paid an additional $40 fee for limited driving privileges. He is permitted to drive for employment, to pick up his children from school, to get groceries, do banking, attend court-ordered treatment and appear in court.
Weimer placed Wigfield on probation for a year, ordered him to complete an assessment for substance abuse disorder at an approved agency, refrain from using alcohol or drugs of abuse, stay out of bars and taverns and submit to random drug and alcohol monitoring and testing.
Another Bolivar position opens up
Bolivar Mayor Tim Lang said Wigfield was hired on Nov. 7 as a part-time seasonal street department employee with a rate of pay of $12 an hour.
Bolivar Village CouncilWigfield hired as seasonal employee
"The OVI occurred prior to him working for the village so there are no disciplinary records to share," Lang wrote in an email.
Lang said Wigfield does not drive village trucks and works as a laborer, fixing equipment, cutting rees, and other tasks as directed by the street superintendent for street and building repairs.
Wigfield asked for a leave of absence from the Bolivar fire department, which Lynch granted, on the same day charges were filed in municipal court, Sept. 12.
Wigfield had been assistant chief since Feb. 12, 2020, according to Lynch. He was hired as Bolivar firefighter and emergency medical service provider on June 8, 2006, and promoted to captain June 20, 2011.
Stark County position not affected
He retains his position as a firefighter and paramedic with Stark County's Jackson Township Fire Department, where he has worked since June 2011.
2011: Richard L. Wigfield Jr. sworn in as Jackson Township firefighter/paramedic
Jackson Township Fire Chief Timothy G. Berczik said Wigfield was required to use vacation and personal time to cover work shifts while his driving privileges were suspended following his arrest.
"Driving is a requirement to work here," Berczik said.
The Jackson chief said he had no reason to discipline Wigfield for the drunken driving conviction in Tuscarawas County.
"It wasn't done on duty," Berczik said. "It wasn't done here. It didn't jeopardize his job here. He wasn't inebriated at all when he was here."
He said Wigfield has passed random drug and alcohol tests at Jackson.
"Other than this infraction, he's been a good employee. He didn't violate any work rule for us to suspend him," Berczik said.
Berczik said Wigfield would probably be under the microscope more now because of his drunken driving conviction, which the chief characterized as "a life learning experience."
"I wish him luck going forward," Berczik said. "He's a good employee."
In a written statement, Wigfield said he is very thankful for Lang, Berczik and all of his coworkers and friends "for all their help and support throughout this ordeal. I am in a better place now, and I am focused now on my family."
Video captures DUI stop
A body-worn camera captured Wigfield's arrest by Strasburg patrol officer Connor Bailey, which occurred just south of Dover Brake on U.S. Route 250.
At first, Wigfield told Bailey he hadn't been drinking. He asked the officer to turn off his camera.
"I can't," said Bailey. "It's against department policy."
Wigfield told Bailey that he was the assistant fire chief in Bolivar.
"I know who you are," Bailey said. "I worked at Bolivar for two years."
"So you know who I am," Wigfield said.
"At the same time, I've got a job to do," Bailey said.
On the drive to the Dover Police Department for the breath test, Wigfield asked if Bailey knew what the situation would mean to him.
"I do," the officer said. "But at the end of the day, the only thing we have is our integrity."
Reach Nancy at 330-364-8402 or nancy.molnar@timesreporter.com.
On Twitter: @nmolnarTR
This article originally appeared on The Times-Reporter: Richard Wigfield out of Bolivar Fire, keeps village job after DUI
