Douglas County fire chief fired after a year on the job
Nearly two months after he was placed on administrative leave, the Douglas County Fire Department chief has been fired.
His firing comes following an investigation into the department’s hiring practices.
Douglas County swore in Chief Roderick Jolivette as the county’s first Black fire chief in Feb. 2022.
According to an investigation conducted by an independent third party, Jolivette failed to investigate an alleged criminal warrant and criminal history of a firefighter after county officials alerted him to its possible existence.
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In January 2023, a county commissioner learned Daymetrie Williams, who was employed by the county, may have had an active arrest warrant in Madison County, Alabama for failing to appear in court on a theft charge.
When Jolivette reported that he was unable to locate active warrant information for Williams, the commissioner found it himself a few days later, according to the report.
The report states that on several occasions, Jolivette told county officials he would investigate the warrant, but did not.
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After being given a deadline to provide officials with an investigative report, Jolivette instructed another investigator to look into it. He never shared that investigator’s report and instead provided officials with his own version, which did not include a large portion of the information they requested, according to the report.
The report goes on to say that Jolivette also removed Williams’ personnel file and locked it in his office.
Investigators also learned that Williams did not accurately report his criminal record during his application process with the county. Jolivette did not disclose that fact in his report.
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“Chief Jolivette’s leadership and contributions to the department are recognized and appreciated, but the County has decided to move in a different direction,” Acting County Administrator David Corbin said in a statement.
Jolivette’s termination goes into effect on May 1.
Deputy Fire Chief Miles Allen, who has served as interim fire chief since Jolivette was placed on leave, will continue to run the department until further notice.
It is unclear if Williams has been arrested on his active warrant.
