Dispatcher in Long-Running Feud Takes Plea

An Athens County (Ohio) 911 dispatcher who was fired in 2005 for being intoxicated on-duty, and whose case went all the way to the state Supreme Court, has accepted a plea agreement after being charged with carrying a concealed weapon while intoxicated. Warren Ferguson, 45, was sentenced to 30 days in jail and fined $250 on a lesser weapon transportation charge, with the jail time suspended if he completes an alcohol abuse program. He was involved in one of the longest-running dispatcher termination disputes in the country. He allegedly appeared intoxicated for a 2005 union meeting and made sexually-related comments to a fellow dispatcher. The county fired him, but an arbitrator ruled he was a “troubled employee” who suffered from emotional distress related to his wife’s medical condition. The arbitrator ordered the county to re-hire him, but the county decided to appeal in 2006, taking it through a local and state court (pdf), a state appeals court, and finally the state Supreme Court (pdf). All the courts upheld the arbitrator’s order to rehire Ferguson, and the county allowed him to return to work in 2008. Last September Ferguson was allegedly intoxicated by inside his car at a local fair, and a sheriff’s deputy located a .40-cal. pistol inside the car and arrested Ferguson. He pleaded not guilty and resigned his dispatcher position weeks later. Now he’s accepted a plea agreement, ending his notoriety.