District of Columbia fire officials received a report of sexual misconduct against a veteran sergeant more than a year before he was accused of a similar act that has triggered a broad investigation of alleged wrongdoing within the department, according to court documents.
D.C. police and fire officials this month launched a high-profile investigation into allegations of rampant sexual misconduct, including reports that as many as a dozen fire department employees were involved in a prostitution ring. The accusations surfaced last month after an emergency medical technician complained that former Sgt. Darryl Green, 42, masturbatedin her presence at the Engine 8 fire house in late July.
But the allegation of sexual misconduct wasn’t the first against Green, who resigned from the department earlier this year.
In 2006, a female fire department employee reported a similar incident while at the D.C. Fire Department Training Academy, according to court documents.
Authorities failed to investigate until earlier this month, when the fire department set up an internal affairs unit to look into a host of allegations ranging from improper sexual escapades to corruption to questionable shootings.
“I can’t believe the last administration swept this under the table,” said Dan Dugan, head of the firefighter union. “This is absolutely reprehensible. You can’t ignore such a thing.”
After the recent allegation against Green, police went back and interviewed the woman who complained a year earlier. Green was arrested and charged with indecent exposure in the 2006 case on Sept. 8.
The woman, a staff assistant with the fire department, told internal affairs investigators that Green called her at the training academy and asked her to bring condiments for his lunch in the parking lot.
When she approached with the condiments, Green rolled down the window. She saw that he was masturbating and watching a pornographic movie on his DVD player, documents said. She reported the alleged act at the training academy.
