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Wednesday, March 18, 2009

City Hannah Montana: Too Hot for the Seattle Fire Department

Posted by Dominic Holden on Wed, Mar 18, 2009 at 6:39 PM

The Seattle Fire Department breached city ethics rules when Lieutenant Milton Footer failed to collect money for security services at Qwest Field and used his credentials to score two backstage passes to see Hannah Montana at Key Arena, the city says.

The Seattle Ethics and Elections Commission today sent an investigative report to Mayor Greg Nickels's office that found, "Lieutenant Footer committed improper governmental action... by misusing his official position as Fire Inspector to acquire an all-access pass for his fiancée to the Hannah Montana concert at Key Arena in October 2007."

99d8/1237425395-hannah_montana.jpg Lt. Footer had approached a Key Arena employee and asked for the passes, the report says. The employee, who asked why he needed them, was told by Lt. Footer, "I'm the Fire Marshall for this event. I need two passes," according to the ethics commission report. Edie Burke, director of Operations at Key Arena, who was subsequently called in to talk to Lt. Footer, described him as "terse, arrogant, and threatening," the report says. She told investigators: "I felt I didn't have a choice" and gave him the passes. That evening at the concert, the report goes on, Burke and others saw Lt. Footer backstage with a woman who Lt. Footer confirmed was his fiancée.

The ethics commissions found Lt. Footer defied a city policy that states “[e]mployees of the Fire Department are prohibited from using their official position for a purpose that is, or would to a reasonable person appear to be primarily for the private benefit of themselves or another person.”

The report also found—in an unrelated matter—that Lt. Footer neglected to forward a bill for security services in 2002 to First and Goal, Inc., a company overseeing games at Qwest Field, thereby allowing "a gross waste of $195,679 of public funds." The ethics commission concluded that Lt. Footer had violated a state law that bans "allow[ing] funds to be used without valuable result in a manner grossly deviating from the standard of care or competence." There is no indication Lt. Footer gained financially from the deal.

But the ethics commission did point to other problems at the fire department, including failing to adequately cap overtime pay, mismanaging overtime billing, and disregarding a conflict of interest with First and Goal, Inc.

Mayor Greg Nickels swiftly tried to put out the fire by issuing the following statement: “I have zero tolerance for improper conduct and take this matter very seriously. I expect city employees to be professional and ethical. Given the seriousness of the allegations, the Mayor’s Office and the Seattle Fire Department will immediately appoint an outside investigator to review the appropriate level of discipline for those involved.”

Photo via Sarah Camp on Flickr.

Comments (32) RSS

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Was Lt. Footer engaged to a 10 year-old tween? Shouldn't that be the real scandal...

Posted by LAH on March 18, 2009 at 6:43 PM

SO, what we're seeing here is basically theft?

Posted by just checking is all on March 18, 2009 at 6:47 PM

Damn LAH beat me to it, but seriously. How old is his fiance?

Posted by yeah on March 18, 2009 at 6:58 PM

Hey! Let's break into The Stranger offices and steal all of their macs, then laugh when they post about it! Hahahaha!

Posted by hahahaha! on March 18, 2009 at 7:08 PM

I have to admit it. I'd somehow feel better about this if he was finagling tickets to a Nickleback show. Bad taste I can forgive.

But Miley Cyrus? That just creeps me out.

Posted by ROTCODDAM on March 18, 2009 at 7:10 PM

This girl attracts controversy wherever she goes. She is inherently controversial.

Posted by danhowes on March 18, 2009 at 7:24 PM

A grown man willingly going to such a concert is ueber creepy. But, shaking down the mouse is pretty impressive.

Posted by Zander on March 18, 2009 at 7:29 PM

how many years till i can think about hitting that?

Posted by so glad i can constantly change my display name on March 18, 2009 at 7:44 PM

Does it look like that backup singer is fisting Mylie? And Milee's not digging it? No?

Posted by Big Sven on March 18, 2009 at 7:52 PM

@9, please refer yourself to #8. IT'S STILL A FELONY!

Posted by Fnarf on March 18, 2009 at 7:57 PM

He gave 1st and Goal an almost $200,000 discount on security services..... Wow, at worst, sounds like fraud. At best, a career ending move.

Posted by jackseattle on March 18, 2009 at 8:40 PM

Fnarf, I honest to god have no interest in Miley Cyrus, but... technically speaking, she's 16 and I'm not in a position of authority over her, so... if she inexplicably wanted to hump me and I developed amnesia and forgot that I have been blissfully married since GHWB's administration, it would *not* be illegal.

Posted by Big Sven on March 18, 2009 at 8:41 PM

That photo makes her look like she's got polter-wang.

Posted by Balt-O-Matt on March 18, 2009 at 8:46 PM

@5 wait... you can forgive bad taste but you'd be okay if it were nickelback...???

Posted by infrequent on March 18, 2009 at 8:48 PM

This is potentially the lamest and most ham handed abuse of authority I've seen in a while. This. And for Hanna Fuckign Montana tickets. It would be like if Nixon had ran into the Watergate, clubbed the bellboy and ran off with an empty luggage cart.

Posted by sgiffy on March 18, 2009 at 9:05 PM

does this mean they are going to give up the crackdown on neumos and other targeted bars?

http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/05/nigh…

Posted by copper on March 18, 2009 at 9:37 PM

I know she's supposed to be a chick, but that is a pretty masculine-looking package she's got there.

Posted by this guy I know in Spokane on March 18, 2009 at 10:09 PM

We need more Mylie Cyruses in Seattle.

Posted by More Mylies! on March 18, 2009 at 10:15 PM

I can't wait until she she's a coke-addicted vagina-flashing trainwreck just like the prior generation of "good-girl" pop tart twats.

Posted by Rhiannon on March 18, 2009 at 10:22 PM

Nickels: "the appropriate level of discipline."

You mean like whether to put him in jail or merely fire him? Are there other choices?

Posted by Troy on March 19, 2009 at 12:14 AM

just typical coz black fire chief is massively corrupt and gets in under affirm action, so theres definitely bunch of honorable white fire department candidates who should have had job but were passed over coz liberals love betraying their own mother, to address their racist egos which they have no capability of resolving coz they have no personal integrity, ... and at what price. black major, black fire chief like obama recession from bullying banks with accorn and oneal at merril lynch, there is no magic, no honor, no special virture from being black, idiots!! million men in heaven are sitting up there saying 'i had a life but gave it during civil war and blacks have absolutely no appreciation for anything and whites betray our sacrifice.' ml king came late, came way way late but yet like fire fighters like civil war sacrifice there will be absolutely no appreciation. this karma is mounting and liberals bent on destruction of america can only expect that it will most certainly catch up with them. for starters welcome to obama recession soon to be obama depression.

Posted by yeah-so on March 19, 2009 at 12:43 AM

actually, i'm not sure we need more sparkly ties in seattle. it's just too cutting edge for our sense of fashion.

Posted by infrequent on March 19, 2009 at 8:20 AM

Wow. Congratuations, yeah-so@21! You have distilled down the 2009 SLOG Troll invasion to one, single, sentence-fragment, crazy paragraph. I will be submitting your opus to the Nobel Committee.

Posted by Big Sven on March 19, 2009 at 8:38 AM

Oh give me a break ~ you know the Fire Marshall is probably over worked and under paid and if getting two backstage tickets to use for himself is all he wants, good grief let the poor man have it. Now, if he had sold the passes, this would be worth a story!

Posted by shadybw on March 19, 2009 at 9:01 AM

If Lt. Footer is guilty, he is a douche and an asshole. He didn't just piss his career away, he dishonored the Fire Marshall's Office, the Fire Department and the City of Seattle.

For Mylie Cyrus tickets and a couple favors from First and Goal.

If he's guilty, I hope the only job he can get after he gets fired involves a take-out window and a graveyard shift.

How many other people in the Fire Marshall's Office knew this guy was a douche?

Posted by six shooter on March 19, 2009 at 9:40 AM

@24- no doubt the vitriol for miley cyrus is what gave this story legs!

Posted by likey mikey on March 19, 2009 at 9:43 AM

I think the appropriate level of discipline is firing, followed by public ridicule. Miley Cyrus? Gross.

Posted by Greg on March 19, 2009 at 10:31 AM

Too bad journalism is dead. If any of the news agencies in this city took the trouble to dig a little, they would have found Footer has been chosen to take the fall for ineptitude of the very whistle blower who dumped this crap on the public. Look to Footer's superiors for their motivation to make him the scapegoat. This was a failure of supervisors and the billing department.

Posted by Informed observer on March 25, 2009 at 9:01 PM

Well it's obvious if they wanted to see Miley Cyrus they must have some form of mental retardation which should automatically dismiss them off all charges.

Posted by MileyCyrusgoaway on May 21, 2009 at 9:57 AM

Well this is just unlawful! I mean It's obvious if they were trying to see Miley Cyrus they have some some form of mental retardation which means they should be dismissed of all charges!

Posted by MileyCyrusgoawaynow! on May 21, 2009 at 10:08 AM

Well this is just unlawful! I mean It's obvious if they were trying to see Miley Cyrus they have some some form of mental retardation which means they should be dismissed of all charges!

Posted by MileyCyrusgoawaynow! on May 21, 2009 at 10:10 AM