Dispatcher Fired for Intoxication

Tama County (Iowa) E911 Emergency Radio dispatcher Deborah Rigel, 37, has been fired for arriving to work under the influence of alcohol. Emergency management 911 coordinator Roxane Warnell said Rigel was five weeks into a 12-week training program, and that employees detected the odor of alcohol on her when she arrived at work at the courthouse in Toledo. She submitted to a Breathalyzer test, and was then arrested. She was held six hours , Warnell said, given another test that was negative, then released. She later pled guilty to being drunk in public and paid a $65 fine. Warnell read to a reporter the county’s policy about on-duty intoxication and discipline, but didn’t mention any employee assistance program the county has for substance abuse.