Retired or Fired: Swirling Rumors About the Kennewick Fire Chief

Kennewick Fire Chief Vince Beasley says City Manager Marie Mosley sent an email to fire department staff on Friday, informing them that the city was in discussions with Beasley about his retirement.

Beasley says he was terminated.

Beasley goes on to say he is perplexed by these events.

In an email to media outlets, Beasley says he was blindsided by his dismissal on September 3, 2019, after nearly 37 years with the Kennewick Fire Department, and five years as Chief, when city officials required him to return his keys and all city property.

“I was verbally informed that I was being terminated and instructed not to attend that evening’s City Council meeting,” he wrote in the email. “Because I had previously been scheduled to give a presentation to the City Council on September 10th, I was allowed to attend that meeting.”

He said he was presented with a termination agreement on September 17th that he didn’t agree with, and didn’t feel comfortable signing, and so subsequently, was verbally placed on administrative leave.

An email from City Manager Marie Mosley to staff at the fire department attempts to address “rumors” about the Chief, and says the city is “having discussions about his potential retirement from the city.”

“I have NOT instigated any discussions regarding retirement with the City Manager or anyone else,” Beasley said in his email. “I have absolutely NOT been planning to retire as Kennewick’s Fire Chief. I have no intention to do so…”

He said he has complied with requests to turn over his city-owned property, but hopes to retain his role as the chief, as there are many more projects he hopes to accomplish in his tenure.

Mosley said she plans to release more information about the situation on Monday.

More here.