IRMO, S.C. — An assistant chief is back at work after he was found passed out in his department SUV last week.
WISTV.com reported that Irmo (S.C.) Fire District Assistant Chief of Operations Clyde Thomas is now on administrative duty. Responders found Thomas in the vehicle in the parking lot of a McDonald’s at about 3 a.m. on Sept. 19. He participated in an annual Tunnel to Towers 5K event a few hours earlier.
Fire Chief Mike Sonefeld said Thomas admitted to drinking some alcohol, but did not appear intoxicated when he arrived at the scene.
Though witnesses claim to have seen Thomas under the influence, police did not charge him with DUI.
The police and fire department continue to conduct internal probes to determine whether the case was handled properly. Firefighters drove Thomas and his fire vehicle to the fire station, which is the station that answered the 911 call. Then someone called Chief Sonefeld, and Sonefeld drove to the station, picked up Thomas and took him home.
Police Chief Skip Holbrook said he wants to know why his officers in two police cruisers did not file an incident report and whether they properly investigated whether Thomas was fit to drive.
Fire Department policy does not spell out that favorable treatment is not allowed, Fire Chief Aubrey Jenkins said. “The reason why we’re looking into it is we want to make sure our folks did what was right,” he said. “But I promise to be open and transparent with this.”
Jenkins declined to release fire department records about the call until the investigation is over.