City fights arbitration award which allowed Westport firefighter to return to work
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) - Kansas City has filed a petition to block a recent arbitration award that granted Dominic Biscari backpay and the right to return to work. Biscari was the driver of a fire pumper that crashed in Westport in December 2021 and killed three people.
The pumper was speeding and ran a red light with lights and sirens on when it crashed into a car and then continued on, hitting three other cars and knocking a pedestrian into a building. That building collapsed about a minute later.
The crash trapped a Honda CRV under the pumper, killing the driver, Jennifer San Nicolas, and a enger, Michael Elwood.
A pedestrian, Tami Knight, was also killed. She was waiting on the sidewalk while her boyfriend was unlocking his car.
The newly filed petition reveals that the arbitration award granted backpay minus three days. And most of the references to the accident were removed from Biscari’s personnel file.
The petition now challenges the arbitrator’s judgment.
The newly filed petition argues the arbitrator exceeded his authority and the courts must intervene.
KCTV5 has reached out to Biscari’s attorney and the firefighters union for comment but has not heard back. But previously, Biscari’s attorney has been critical of the city’s lack of formal training for firefighters learning to drive trucks.
The petition claims Biscari was never terminated from the city but was technically suspended without pay until the case was resolved.
Biscari took an Alford plea to three counts of second-degree manslaughter and is currently on probation.
An Alford plea is a guilty plea when a defendant maintains their innocence but believes the prosecution’s evidence against them would likely result in a guilty verdict.
The petition was filed just one day after a community protest at Westport and Broadway- the scene of the crash.
One of the organizers of the event, Laura Norris told us, “I am extremely pleased to see the city not rest on the arbitrator’s opinion and award from March. This filed, the day after our protest, resonates well with what the community and families deserve—another shot at Justice.”
Read the full contents of the motion here:
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