Court upholds suspension of ATC agent for carrying gun

The First Circuit Court of Appeals has issued an opinion upholding the decision of the Office of Alcohol and Tobacco Control (ATC) Commissioner Troy Hebert to suspend an ATC enforcement officer for three days without pay for bringing a weapon strapped to his ankle into an Internal Affairs investigation after being directed not to do so.
After losing his case with Civil Service, attorney J. Arthur Smith III filed an appeal on behalf of former ATC enforcement agent Damian McDowell alleging that Hebert’s directive ordering all agents not to carry their weapons into the Internal Affairs investigation was not a lawful order and therefore did not have to be followed.
The court disagreed and determined that Hebert’s directive aimed at preventing workplace violence in a potentially volatile scenario – such as an internal investigation of an agent’s actions – was reasonable. The court sided with Hebert and ordered McDowell to pay all costs associated with the appeal.
The disciplinary action is currently the subject of a racial discrimination case also filed by Smith on behalf of McDowell.