Nashville Fire Chief Holt’s Letter to Tim Lankford – Notice of Disciplinary Charges

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Shortly after we exposed the hateful and intimidating posts by Nashville Fire EMS District Chief Tim Lankford, he took several weeks of ‘sick leave’ that he had built up – so he was not presented with the 64 page letter below, and the accompanying charges from the Civil Service Commission, until very recently. He had an initial informal meeting with the NFD upper management on July 13th 2016, and the department has 10 calendar days to notify him of if it’s disciplinary decision – which will be July 23rd, so we expect to know something by this Friday, and will report the result when it’s made available. Until that time, Lankford has been placed on administrative duty, and pulled from the field.

The following are the rules Tim Lankford is charged with violating:

  • Nashville Fire Department Operational Procedures and Guidelines
    • Social Media Policy Section 11.2
  • Adherence to Policy & Rules of the Metropolitan Government
  • Civil Service Rule 6.7
    • Violation of any of the rules or regulations of the Metropolitan Civil Service Commission
    • Conduct Unbecoming an Employee of the Department
    • Any failure of good behavior which reflects discredit upon himself, the department and/or the Metropolitan Government
    • Violation of any written rules, policies, or procedures of the department in which the employee is employed.
  • Metropolitan Government of Nashville & Davidson County Information Security Policy – Acceptable Use of Information Technology Assets Policy.

The letter to Lankford reads, in part:

“Recently, the department became aware of several social media post from your Facebook account which were perceived as racial, stereotypical, and/or threatening towards members of the public. the posts also raised concern that your opinions may impact your working environment and potentially your judgement/ability to do your job.”

“Additional posts stated you were “so disturbed about the supreme court ruling today I can barely even function at my job. What has this country become.” According to the information provided to the NFD it was noted that you Facebook account identified you not only as an employee of the Nashville fire Department but also mentioned your rank of District Chief. Not only was the NFD made aware of your posts but it was then posted on an online blog and on Facebook (see attached documentation).”

“Furthermore, regarding your Facebook postings, you did not express in clear terms your views on social media as yours along and not a reflection of the Nashville Fire Department. “

Below are the first 2 pages, describing the process and notice of the charges. The full 64 page document is viewable at the end of this post.

64pagepartial


Despite the action taken again Lankford, there are many other incidents, such as the one below where NFD firefighters stopped traffic, stripped at an intersection and more…, that have yet to be addressed by the Nashville Fire Department:

Full video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RdC6PMbJmjk


 

Below is the Social Media Policy of the Nashville Fire Department that Tim Lankford is charged with violating (Section 11.2):

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Here is also the “Metropolitan Government of Nashville & Davidson County Information Security Policy – Acceptable Use of Information Technology Assets Policy” of which he is also charged with violating:

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Finally, here is the Civil Service Rules, of which he is charged with violating the following within section 6.7:

  • Violation of any of the rules or regulations of the Metropolitan Civil Service Commission
  • Conduct Unbecoming an Employee of the Department
  • Any failure of good behavior which reflects discredit upon himself, the department and/or the Metropolitan Government
  • Violation of any written rules, policies, or procedures of the department in which the employee is employed.

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Here are the full 64 page document (Also available via open records request to the city):

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Call / Text Kurt NOW! 615-479-0550

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