An Aurora Fire Rescue deputy chief was fired on Monday following several investigations into alleged racist remarks, retaliation against employees and failing to properly account for days off.

The three separate internal and third-party investigations into former Deputy Fire Chief Stephen McInerny were conducted between August 2020 and January. 

“The city took the steps necessary to ensure a thorough investigation and administrative process related to the personnel matter,” said Kim Stuart, a spokesperson for the City of Aurora in an email statement. “While the investigation took a number of months to complete, the city acted immediately last year upon learning of concerns and did not wait to receive media inquires to initiate the investigation.”

The investigation revealed to city officials that McInerny was accused of violating numerous department policies. 

In one incident, a witness alleged that McInerny referred to a person of Indian decent who was a finalist for a position in the department as a “dot head.”

According to the report, the city learned about the alleged incident in October, while McInerny was under public and media scrutiny for his comments on Facebook regarding athletes who are protesting and other topics.

City officials sent one person to ask people within the department whether the scrutiny accurately depicted McInerny, or if it was false. During this time, a city official learned about the alleged “dot head” comment.

“McInerny is his own worst witness, responding to the allegations with weak denial and tone-deaf praise and stereotyping of Indian people while disclosing separate behavioral allegations against him,” Emily Gordon, an investigator for Flynn Investigations Group wrote in her report acquired by The Denver Gazette.

The witness said the incident occurred in October of 2019 when they were in the hall and overhead a conversation in the hallway of the department.

“I overheard a conversation in the hallway outside my office the interviewers had met with some applicants and McInerny was trying to recall a name of an applicant,” the witness told investigators.

“He said someone along the lines of, that they were Indian, and then trying to describe the person again, he used the words ‘dot head.'”

The witness continues to say McInerny did not use the phrase in a derogatory term. 

During an interview and email conversations with investigators, McInerny denies the allegations, while stating he has Indian friends and has worked with them a lot in information technology settings.

“I don’t think I have ever said anything like ‘dot head’ at work,” McInerny told the investigator.

“I have Indian friends from Ft. Lauderdale, that I have worked with and (am) friends with. I would not say that … I like Indian people and I have worked with them extensively in the Information Technology realm and they excel in that profession.”

McInerny later emailed Gordon that it would not make sense for him to refer a Indian male as a ‘dot head’ as only female Indians who subscribe to a certain religious belief wear a Bindi — a traditional Indian decoration.

“Deputy Chief McInerny does not provide any credible denial or explanation against the comment,” Gordon wrote. “His reported praise of an entire ethic group only makes it seem more likely that he used the words alleged even if he ‘didn’t mean anything by it.'”

A separate investigation that included interviews with 11 witnesses, and over 20 documents sent to the investigator looked into three potential employee retaliation claims. 

The allegations stem from a letter written to the department heads regarding concerns over its Hazardous Material Technician certification program (HazMat Tech).

The complainant alleged he was reassigned by McInerny to another battalion due to his letter of concern and on two occasions McInerny denied his request to reschedule vacation days to take care of his son despite the Family and Medical Leave Act and Families First Coronavirus Response Act.

The investigator found two of the three incidents credible.

The complainant on Dec. 25, 2019 requested to drop his HazMat Tech certification, but was denied — like all requests due to the limited number of certified personnel — and in response wrote a letter explaining some concerns over the department’s training regime in March 2020.

His initial letter never reached McInerny and after a follow-up email in August 2020 was sent, McInerny reassigned the complainant to Station 2 — the home of HazMat Tech training — until his training was complete.

The complainant was not a full-time member of the HazMat team, so he was required to “rove” to the station on designated training days to stay certified, however, witnesses said only two of the three shifts allow for such training.

Station 2 is the only place to complete job performance requirements needed to maintain HazMat Tech certification, but it’s also the busiest. Witnesses told investigators that the station was known to receive 22 calls in a 24-hour span, or 30 calls in a single shift, according to the report. 

Along with the frequent calls, witnesses who are current and former employees at the station said there was no implemented training time and no structure.

“Interviews with current (redacted) whose responsibilities include Station 2 reveal considerable confusion about both the history and current state of HazMat training, as well as general lack of institutional knowledge about these topics,” wrote investigator David Vogel of Flynn Investigations Group in his report.

However, the investigator says throughout the investigation it became apparent that the reassignment was made out of anger about the letter.

“The overall circumstances of the August 13, 2020 email suggest that rather than responding to (redacted name) letter in a measure and deliberate manner, DC McInerny decision was more of an emotional response based on antipathy towards (redacted name),” Vogel wrote.

In two other instances, the complainant alleged McInerny was retaliating by refusing to allow him to take days off to take care of his son.

Although one of these claims were found valid by Vogel, because McInerny had not become aware of the complainant’s letter, the second was.

The complainant requested to have several days in August off to take care of his son, and when department officials were processing the request, McInerny allegedly became involved.

In an email thread on Aug. 18, he asked for clarification about the number of days off allowed by “COVID leave” and said the complainant had taken a lot of days off.

“Is there no limits to COVID-19 childcare?” McInerny wrote in an email acquired by investigators. 

Despite an employee who worked directly under McInerny approving the days off, he allegedly then went to the complainant’s supervisor and told him not to allow anymore days off.

“McInerny went to Witness 4’s office on either 18 or 19 and instructed him not to grant any additional lear for FMLA or COVID childcare to (redacted name) on the grounds that (redacted name) was not entitled to it,” the report read.

McInerny denies doing this, but witnesses from the department said the complainant was being targeted.

“I think (redacted name) perception about being retaliated against is probably accurate,” a witness said in the report.

Similarly throughout the investigation, Vogel concluded McInerny acted out of anger.

In a final investigation, an anonymous complaint stated McInerny had failed to properly account for days off during multiple work trips.

Investigators looked into nine work trips in 2019 and 2020 that McInerny went on, and only one was found to be improper.

McInerny and several other officials traveled to Florida from March 25 to March 29, 2019, but McInerny returned to Denver on April 2, according to the report.

McInerny who had Friday’s off due to a flex day option, said he worked a day later that year to make up for a lost day at work. However investigators found he used the unused flex day at a different time.

“This investigator finds it more likely than not that DC McInerny did not properly account for April 1, 2019 during a personal trip to Florida,” the report read.