Bar fight labels firefighters “embarrassment to the city”

Maricopa firefighters made a name for themselves this weekend. Unfortunately, it had nothing to do with the regular good deeds and sacrifices they make while on the job. Instead, it was a bar fight on the patio of Ramsey’s American Grill Friday night that prompted owner Ramsey Harkness to call the firefighters involved “an embarrassment to the city.”

The melee occurred about 11:30 p.m. when, according to Harkness and other witnesses, Firefighter Chris Hertzog punched another patron, Darren Cox, while Cox was arguing with Firefighter Cody Ashton. Other unidentified firefighters were reportedly also involved.

“I don’t really know what happened,” Cox said Saturday. “Me and this one guy were bickering at each other and someone cold-cocked me. When I got up to defend myself the cop tased me.”

Pinal County Sheriff Deputy Daniel Lopez was at the bar on regular patrol when the fight broke out. Lopez reportedly used his taser to subdue Cox but did not use force with Ashton or the other firefighters. Herzog reportedly fled the scene immediately after punching Cox.

Despite the reports from witnesses to inmaricopa.com, PCSO’s Sgt. Wayne Cashman, the shift supervisor, said they had no suspects. “All participants had fled the area,” he said. “All we had left was the victim.”

Calls to spokespersons for the PCSO seeking additional comment were not returned.

Cox, who had not previously met either firefighter, did not press charges and shrugged off the incident saying the firefighters were “just out raising hell looking for trouble.”

Harkness noted that Assistant Fire Chief Dan Ashton, Cody’s father, was about 15 feet away and did not attempt to break up the fight – and laughed about it later that night. Ashton, whose duties with the department were recently re-aligned (see related story), received a ride home from Harkness.

Patron Eddie Garcia witnessed the event Friday and said, “It’s sad the second guy in charge is there and doesn’t think it’s a big deal.”

Harkness referred to the scene as “total disrespect for a local business owner, the city and the police department.”

Rich Reeves, a manager at Ramsey’s who witnessed the fight, called it a “really really ugly episode.”

Not a surprise to many
According to Harkness, the firefighters were involved in an altercation about an hour earlier when Cody Ashton threatened a patron who was speaking to Ashton’s fiancée. Harkness asked the individual, whom he characterized as “harmless,” and his friends to leave the establishment to quell the brewing conflict with Ashton and his group of about 10 people, many of them Maricopa firefighters.

“It was kind of like they wanted to get in a fight,” Reeves said, “and they finally got it.”

According to Harkness, the same group of firefighters has been involved in altercations both at his establishment and other local bars.

“Whenever 8-10 get together you know something’s going happen,” Harkness said. “You could tell their whole goal was to hit someone that night.”

Impact on business
Harkness estimates he lost $500 in sales because of the fight and hopes the impact won’t linger. “Everybody left and it gives us a bad reputation,” he said. Harkness takes pride in his restaurant having established a reputation for being a fun, casual and friendly environment and said “I don’t want that to change.”

While Cox declined to press charges against the firefighters, Harkness said “They should’ve gone to jail,” and that he would have pressed charges had they broken anything at his restaurant. “All I can do is ban them,” he said.

In the future, Harkness said he will not allow Maricopa firefighters in groups of more than two. He has also demanded an apology from the Maricopa Fire Department and the city.

Garcia noted that there were many people there from out of town who now have a less-than-savory image of Maricopa.

Garcia said the firefighters acted like “drunk idiots.” “They are role models to kids,” he said, “and they need to start acting like it.”

Disciplinary action
If and how the firefighters will be disciplined is up in the air. F.D. Maricopa was previously an independent fire district but became a city department three weeks ago. According to Fire Chief William Kelleher, the new Fire Department may not have a policy addressing off duty conduct by firefighters. “We did,” Kelleher said referring to the pre-city takeover, “but I don’t believe the city does.”

In such a situation, Kelleher said the Fire District’s policy was “putting everyone on administrative leave and then looking into it.”

“The city’s still looking into whether they have jurisdiction,” Kelleher said Sunday afternoon. “I’ve been told by the city manager and human capital manager of the city they will investigate the incident Monday.”