These two redacted depositions, attached to this post, are a must read for anyone who truly wants to know how badly the county, under inept and indecisive leadership at the time, failed miserably to provide due process to paramedic and former Escambia EMS employee Matt Selover.
This one deposition (in two volumes), probably moreso than any other one I have read related to this case (and I have now read each of them) illustrates the reason the county eventually was forced to settle. The county HR department totally botched the investigation, tried to do a 180 reversal of the investigative findings after holding the report open for 7 months, and allowed for materials to be included in a "final" that were biased, suspect, and unreliable---- requested by one party to the complaint-- and written a full 7 months after the conduct at issue happened. Unpersuasive--this would have never stood up to a trial. It looks exactly like what I thought it was all along: A conspiracy, and an "after the fact" attempt to arrange facts for certain employees to escape any ramifications for actions outside their scope--while totally reversing what was presented as the "final" investigatory findings to fit a politically motivated outcome.
And of course once the 100% contradictory report was presented to Selover 7 months after the first one was in the can--he was told he did not have any appeal mechanism. It was wrong. It would have been a disastrous loser in court.
These two volumes here and here are the deposition of County HR Investigator Ed Sapainhower, who was questioned by J.J. Talbott in regards to his handling of the harrassment complaint that Matt Selover filed against medical director Rayme Edler. It is devastating, the degree to which the county's own policies on timelines for completing an investigation were totally abandoned.
Yes, by July 1st of 2019---Spainhower had completed his preliminary report. But 7 months later--the findings were "updated" and completely reversed--once new staff and a new administrator and her mentor took over the process and apparently wanted a different outcome.
The last 30 pages of volume I of the deposition chronicle, in agonizing detail, what happened and why Selover was not provided this report for months, and months, and months. It's actually quite infuriating.
Distrubingly--this transcript and the questions and answers it brings forward, show that a rushed one-day "finalization" of the report (where the conclusions were totally reversed) happened once a new HR director was brought in to "clean up the mess."
No wonder the lawyers for the insurance company were so desperate to have the county settle this suit.
Of course it is/was convenient for folks that handled this turkey to start blaming those of us who were asking questions, demanding answers, speaking out and inquiring as to why policy was not being followed.
The disgusting attempts at blame shifting by the insurance company lawyers and their ally the bean-counting "adjuster" (who was totally simpatico with the former HR director) are feckless--they knew I would never be called to testify in any trial that might have happened--as I was not an expert witness, nor was I a fact witness. My knowledge of the issues of the case were all second-hand, hearsay; Yet these insurance folks and the press sure were quick to try to foist blame on me...Their accusations ring hollow and are as flat as a belly flop from the high dive.
For those of us who have actually followed this debacle all the way through---these two volumes (Particularly Volume 1 pages 86-141) detail the precise reasons this case had to be settled.
Sloppy, botched work by former county leadership and an egregious failure by HR and the administrator's office in following board policy. That's what caused this. And NOTHING else.
Sadly--it didn't have to happen.
Thankfully--most that were involved in this debacle are no longer in positions of leadership anywhere in this county.
