A Tacoma firefighter who is president of the firefighters’ union Local 31 was suspended for 30 days without pay after an investigation found he regularly used derogatory terms to describe women and those who disagreed with him.
Ryan Mudie served the suspension from Oct. 29 to Nov. 20.
“Your language and behavior are degrading and insulting and absolutely cannot be tolerated,” Chief James Duggan wrote in a Sept. 13 letter to Mudie. “Your behavior has made it difficult for me to justify allowing you to remain in the workplace.
“I continue to have grave concerns about your ongoing employment in this department.”
Duggan went on to tell Mudie he is not firing him and hopes the suspension is enough to correct the offensive behavior.
Mudie filed a grievance against his punishment.
The 40-year-old has worked as a Tacoma firefighter since 2003 and is currently a paramedic on Engine 10, which is stationed in the 7200 block of South Park Avenue. He has served as union president since 2012 and made $112,696 in 2017, according to city data.