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Fire Chief George given ultimatum: promote or else

Deadline passes for St. Louis fire chief to make promotions

(KMOV) – It is still unknown if disciplinary action will be taken against St. Louis Fire Chief Sherman George, after he refused to promote dozens of firefighters to fill open positions by last Friday's deadline.

Monday however was another day of legal maneuvers, charges and counter charges

Chief George is out of town through at least Tuesday. 

The first step in the disciplinary process is notification by letter, which can't be done until he returns.

Meanwhile, his attorney was back in court, appealing Friday's ruling that the director of public safety does have authority to tell George to promote.

Chief George's Attorney Tom Blumenthal says, "We believe the director of public safety's directive is a violation of the law, and we're asking the court to stop it from going forward.”

While the court ponders the appeal, Public Safety Director Charles Bryson is proceeding with the disciplinary process.

After formal notification, the two will meet to discuss the alleged violations.

Only after that meeting, is the public safety director supposed to start thinking about what the disciplinary action might be.

If the St. Louis clergy coalition has its way there will be no discipline.

Mayor Slay's Chief of Staff Douglas Parham says, “We want the harassment to stop and the chief to go forward.”

Firefighters who've been waiting years for the rank, and the pay that goes with it, say they've had enough.

As the racial divide in the fire department threatens to expand into the community, the mayor's office says it can weather the storm.

Referring to the two years the validity of the promotions test was in litigation, Mayor Slay's Chief of Staff Jeff Rainford says, “As far as the mayor is concerned and Public Safety Director Bryson have to do the right thing and the chips will fall where they may. Having said that, the mayor's been very patient.”

This summer, the court ruled it valid, and that's when all this came to a head. 

Right now, two court cases are on appeal, but the disciplinary action is going ahead.