In August 2015, a firefighter broke protocol and went outside his chain of command to email then Division Chief Jace Kohan.
In a regimented organization like Tampa Fire Rescue, chain of command is part of daily operations. But Kohan told a judge and seven-person jury Wednesday that firefighter Mark Pattison wasn’t reprimanded for his email, or even scolded.
Two months later, he was promoted.
When firefighter Tanja Vidovic emailed Kohan earlier that summer, in June 2015, he wasn’t yet division chief.
Twelve days later, she received a written reprimand, the first step in the department’s disciplinary process, for going outside the chain of command.
But, unlike Pattison, she was contacting Kohan as her union representative, as all firefighters are allowed to do. She wanted to ask about her ability to go on light duty during pregnancy.