It's been a dozen years since the notorious "dozing dispatcher" episode in Peabody.
John Brophy, a firefighter working on the department's 911 dispatch desk, had fallen asleep, missing a call about a six-month-old baby who had stopped breathing. For that, he was fired.
The following year, an arbitrator ordered that Brophy's punishment be reduced to a 30-day suspension, a ruling that was ultimately upheld by the state Appeals Court.
But Brophy never returned to work.
Now, a judge has set a trial date for December on the question of whether the city of Peabody is in contempt of the arbitrator's decision more than a decade ago, and if so, whether it owes Brophy damages, in the form of back pay and medical costs.