MEDFORD, Ore. – Jackson County Fire District 5’s Chief Charles Hanley has been put on administrative leave. This comes as an investigation into complaints about Hanley are underway.
The complaints include allegations of general misconduct, bullying and more. They were brought to the attention of Fire District 5 board members by the union that represents the district’s firefighters, back in January. The complaints submitted by IAFF Local 2596 led to a motion filed to put Hanley on administrative leave, in February. Then in March, three out of five board members resigned.
At Tuesday’s meeting, Hanley was placed on administrative leave immediately, pending the outcome of the investigation. Hanley argued that the terms and conduct of his contract were not being followed.
He said, “the board has come in and basically overstepped my ability to deal with this… I have asked for information for what is now 120 days on these allegations with no response.”
Assistant Fire Chief, Aaron Bustard will take over Hanley’s duties, as Interim Fire Chief. NBC5 News reached out to board members Friday, but they were not available for an interview. The board did say however, that the next meeting will include an in-depth review of the union’s documents and complaints against Hanley.
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