City worker appeals termination based on marijuana charge

By Debbie Ingram

Published: June 26, 2008

“No, no, no, no,” Bruce Iverson repeated firmly, shaking his head.

No, he did not approve of his co-worker, Kendrick Corbitt, retrieving a bag of marijuana from a garbage can beside Dale County Road 25 on May 28 as they picked up trash for the City of Dothan.

No, he did not approve of Corbitt’s saying he was going to keep the marijuana, sell it and make some money from it.

No, he did not want Corbitt, with the marijuana in his pocket, to get back in the city knuckleboom truck to complete their trash collection route.

No, Iverson said, he never considered half the marijuana, or proceeds from its sale, belonged to him.

“I told him to put it back. I said, ‘It ain’t right.’ I can’t tell this man what to do,” Iverson said. “I don’t do drugs. I never did. I gave the city all my life. Eighteen years. I was never arrested. I don’t use it.
“I am guilty of using bad judgment. Don’t fire me for what he did. Corbitt put it in his pocket, not mine. I should have cut the truck off,” Iverson said. “I should have called somebody, yes.”

Corbitt and Iverson, an 18-year city employee and the driver of the Department of Environmental Services truck, were arrested at the city yard later that afternoon for possession of marijuana. Both men were terminated from their jobs for violating personnel rules on possession of a controlled substance.

Iverson testified on his own behalf Thursday morning during a three-hour termination hearing before the Dothan Personnel Board, admitting his fault in the matter.

Since he was aware of his co-worker’s actions that day but did not condone it, attorney Tom Brantley argued his client should be suspended or given probation, but not fired.

Iverson is being charged with constructive possession. That is, he is guilty of having control of the vehicle in which marijuana was found, and he had knowledge that it was there.

Yet driving is not Iverson’s usual job; a third employee was not at work that day, so Iverson drove because he has a commercial drivers license.

A key question in the termination is why Iverson didn’t take action. Why didn’t he stop the truck and call a supervisor, or, as Brantley suggested, throw his co-worker to the ground and take the marijuana from him?

“I ain’t no police officer,” Iverson said. “You know how big that man is?”

Brantley said Iverson might have acted when he finished the route but someone beat him to it. A third city employee working on trash collection where the marijuana was found was Tim Dozier.

Dozier drove a smaller trash truck behind the knuckleboom truck. When the bigger truck got full, the trash was dumped into Dozier’s truck, who drove it to the landfill. After his last stop that day, and after leaving the city yard, Dozier testified he went to Sonic for a drink.

He said he saw a police officer at Sonic and asked him “a hypothetical question.”

“I asked if a city employee had an illegal possession (of a controlled substance) in a city vehicle, what’s the penalty. He said it was ‘steep,’ ” Dozier said.

He then gave the policeman the trash truck number and told him he might want to check it.

Dozier’s version of what happened when he and Corbitt were looking through the garbage that day differed from Iverson’s. Iverson said he told Corbitt to put the pot back. Dozier testified that Iverson said, “I don’t see nothing. I don’t know nothing.”

City Attorney Len White butted heads with Brantley often during the hearing with the two disagreeing on procedure, questioning of witnesses and other matters.

White chastised Brantley for continually quizzing Dozier on the number of times he violated departmental policy by going through the garbage in search of valuables. Iverson said a lot of employees dig through the garbage cans, but they have been told by a supervisor “not to bring aluminum or anything like that to the yard.”

Personnel Board member Barbara Spann asked Iverson if he has received any instruction on what to do if drugs are found in the workplace. Iverson said he has not.

Public Works Director Jerry Corbin said he did not want to fire Iverson.

“Possession of drugs is not something that can be overlooked?” White asked.

“Not by me,” Corbin responded.

In closing, Brantley asked Iverson not be given the “employee death penalty.”

“He is charged with possession of marijuana and thus violating the drug policy,” Brantley said. “The subissue is he allowed marijuana on a city vehicle. I don’t think he allowed it. He just didn’t report it. I ask you to be human beings in judging this case.”

Personnel board members will review copies of the transcript from the meeting and reconvene later with a vote on whether to reinstate Iverson.