Three members of Kootenay Boundary Regional Fire Rescue are off the job after being charged with assaulting a homeless man in downtown Trail.
Police said the alleged attack happened in April in the 900 block of Spokane Street. They say the trio knew the 49-year-old victim and they believe it stemmed from a previous incident.
Police said the man was punched in the head several times, may have passed out, and suffered a serious shoulder injury.
“This is no way a reflection of the fire department but does impact them,” Sgt. Mike Wicentowich said.
Gregory Ferraby, 53, of Trail; Richard Morris, 48, of Trail; and Wesley Parsons, 43, of Warfield, are each charged with one count of assault causing bodily harm. Each was based at the Trail fire hall.
They have been released on undertakings to have no contact with the victim and will make their first court appearance on Dec. 7 in Rossland.
Online court records indicate Ferraby was originally charged with uttering threats while all three men were then charged with assault causing bodily harm. However, the charges were stayed in June for further investigation. A new information was sworn on Wednesday.
At the time of the incident, RCMP reported they found a man on the ground in an alley who told them he had been beaten by a man and two accomplices while taking his garbage out to the dumpster in the alley. He was taken to hospital.
Police arrested a man at the time, but did not identify him. The other two men were not immediately known to police.
“We are saddened and disturbed by these charges,” fire chief Dan Derby said. “Public safety is at the heart of everything we do. The RDKB does not condone this type of conduct on or off duty.”
Derby said the RDKB is taking the allegations seriously and conducting an internal investigation. In the meantime, the firefighters are “absent” from the workplace and will not be responding to calls. However, Derby declined to say when that suspension took effect.
Derby said it will not be easy to fill their shifts: “This is a challenge for us, absolutely. For staffing, this is a significant challenge.”
He added the incident happened while the men were off duty.
“This has nothing to do with our work in the community. We continue to provide the services we are responsible to provide.”