A top LAFD official fled a crash but got rewarded instead of disciplined
Late on a Sunday night, Ellsworth Fortman, an assistant chief for the Los Angeles Fire Department, walked out of Marci’s Sports Bar and Grill in Santa Clarita and climbed into his Dodge Ram pickup truck for the drive home.
Fortman had traveled less than a mile when he slammed into a parked Toyota Corolla, propelling it 160 feet into a parked Mercedes-Benz. Fortman’s truck careened into a curb and toppled a streetlamp, sending live electrical wires onto the pavement. He then backed up and barreled off.
The events of that January 2020 night — documented in LAFD and law enforcement reports — led the district attorney’s office to charge Fortman with misdemeanor hit-and-run and driving without a valid license. An internal inquiry concluded that he was under the influence of alcohol at the time of the crash, failed to ensure no one was injured before fleeing and put the public in danger from the fallen electrical lines, a Times investigation has found.
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But no discipline was imposed.Instead, the department gave Fortman a lucrative assignment as a manager of Mayor Eric Garcetti’s COVID-19 testing and vaccination program. Over a period of two years, he made $354,000 in overtime in addition to his annual salary of $221,500.
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Instead, the department gave Fortman a lucrative assignment as a manager of Mayor Eric Garcetti’s COVID-19 testing and vaccination program. Over a period of two years, he made $354,000 in overtime in addition to his annual salary of $221,500.
https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2022-11-18/top-lafd-official-escapes-discipline-after-hit-and-run-allegation-of-drinking
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January 2020
After leaving a bar, Los Angeles Fire Department Assistant Chief Ellsworth Fortman crashes his pickup truck into a parked car and a street light, drives home and does not cooperate with sheriff’s deputies who arrive to question him.
March 2020
Facing potential criminal charges and an internal investigation, Fortman begins earning overtime from a new assignment helping to manage the city’s COVID-19 testing and vaccination program.
November 2020
LAFD investigators recommend Fortman be brought before a disciplinary hearing on four charges stemming from the crash.
December 2020
Fortman faces a Board of Rights review to determine culpability and punishment. The hearing is never scheduled.
May 2021
In exchange for the dismissal of the criminal charges, Fortman enters a court-supervised diversion program. He remains on duty and attached to the COVID-19 initiative.
August 2021
State regulators fine Fortman $2,500 for violating codes related to his duties as a paramedic.
March 2022
After queries from The Times, Fire Department officials move to schedule a Board of Rights hearing. Within days, Fortman retires with no punishment after collecting $354,000 in overtime from the COVID-19 assignment.
https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2022-11-18/ellsworth-fortman-crash-timeline-lafd
Witnesses say a hit-and-run in Santa Clarita on Sunday, Jan. 26, 2020 moved a car over a hundred feet, and that the suspect, Assistant Fire Chief Ellsworth Fortman, did not come out when police knocked on his door.
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