Emergency officials demote woman over food donation

[derketchup]

A Muslim woman who says her organization attends numerous meetings at the East Baton Rouge Emergency Operations Center brought food for workers there at the center on September 11th. The city-parish called it a security breach, and another woman was demoted over it.

A former communications chief of the 911 Center on Harding Boulevard says she was demoted because of something that happened there while she was not even at work. The date when the controversy started is significant, as it was the anniversary of September 11th.

Former EMS Communications Chief of Operations Stacy Simmons says she was demoted after the city-parish blamed her for not dealing with an apparent security breach at the EOC in East Baton Rouge Parish.

"Absolutely devastated, because I had worked for 15 years to get where I was," Simmons said.

September 11th this year was a Saturday, and it is when Jane Aslam, who works for the Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA), says she came with two friends to make a special delivery.

"We cooked home cooked foods and made gift bags to deliver to the first responders who were working on 911 in our communities. This event was done all over the country," Aslam said.

Stacy Simmons was not at work that day, but as 911 Chief of Operations, she received a letter nine days later. It warns her of a possible demotion, and reprimands her for a "serious breach of security." Aslam says she waited in the lobby to make the delivery. Simmons says the lobby was secure and to get through the doors to the building, a card was needed.

EBR EMS Administrator Pam Porter wrote the letter to Simmons. In it, she states leaving Aslam's group unattended in the lobby "created an environment that jeopardized the entire public safety dispatching for the parish, and also, potentially put the welfare and lives of approximately 40 people on the dispatch floor at great risk."

"It was very disheartening. I understand that there are needs for safety and security within our communities and wholeheartedly agree with that, but also, to have come upon let's say overzealous or knee-jerk types of reactions when it comes to Muslims in general, and I'm hoping that's not the case here," Aslam said.

Simmons was demoted November 6th, and is now an EMS Communications Shift Supervisor. She says she is appealing that decision and claims other non-Muslim groups have delivered food to the same room building and no questions were asked.

"There's been other religious organizations of different religious backgrounds and we've never launched an investigation on any of them," Simmons said.

Pam Porter, the EMS administrator, says she cannot comment on personnel issues.

Emergency officials demote woman over "security breach" - WAFB Channel 9, Baton Rouge, LA |

[sns4063]

As someone who works for a governmental agency, there is no way I'd take any homemade food from anybody I didn't know, regardless of the situation. The days of trusting are long over-not just for intentional poisoning, but for other food safety reasons as well. Would YOU take food from some stranger off the street?

[Macaela25]

Simmons was demoted November 6th, and is now an EMS Communications Shift Supervisor. She says she is appealing that decision and claims other non-Muslim groups have delivered food to the same room building and no questions were asked.

Sounds to me like someone has a very lucrative case for the ACLU. I guess white people better stay the heck away from Memphis on Martin Luther King Day....they might be a security breach.

[derketchup]

As someone who works for a governmental agency, there is no way I'd take any homemade food from anybody I didn't know, regardless of the situation. The days of trusting are long over-not just for intentional poisoning, but for other food safety reasons as well. Would YOU take food from some stranger off the street?

No I wouldn't take it from a stranger off the street, but that's because of the Army policy I am used to.

However, these weren't strangers off the street. Apparently this group has been involved with the EMT department for a while. So unless there's a policy against taking homemade food from anyone, it's personal discretion.

[oceanbreeze]

Give her back her job title. She cannot be the only one soley responsible for letting these folks into the building, nor soley responsible for all security measures at the building. Sounds like she's taking the fall for all the security workers at that location who were working that day and failed to keep out unwanted /unauthorized folks.

One would also think that a reprimand would be in order before automatically demoting someone immediately.