HAMPTON, Va. — A firefighter terminated from his job is now going to court with the City of Hampton.
The News 3 Investigative Team is following through on this case after a massive fire at a Hampton apartment complex sent eight firefighters to the hospital back in 2022.
Former Lt. Eric Knick was let go in March of 2023 and cited for breaking protocol — accusations he firmly denies.
Now, his lawyer Art Traynor says the city is withholding information important from records about what happened that day.
There were 50 people displaced and 12 injured in total, including eight Hampton firefighters, back on Oct. 21, 2022.
Lt. Eric Knick was in charge for the first few minutes of the fire, he and others got injured in a flashover. A few months later, he was fired from the department.
Traynor provided News 3 with the body camera video from the day of the fire that they obtained through a Freedom of Information Act.
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At first, the firefighters were praised by city leaders as heroes.
The city issued their own 72-page report of problems that unfolded.
The Department of Labor started an investigation soon after the fire. Eventually, the DOL fined the city $20,000 and cited them for radio communication problems, entering a fire without a working water hose and an unsafe work environment.
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In March of 2023, the city terminated Knick, citing gross negligence. Knick firmly disagrees, saying he’s being used as a scapegoat.
He spoke for the first time to News 3 about what happened last September.
“To second guess actions of a company officer with 25 years of experience on the job that made decisions that saved lives that night, I can’t wrap my head around why this is happening,” said Knick.
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For months, Knick has been fighting to get his job back through the grievance process. His lawyer says the final effort involves a panel of three citizens chosen by the city who will look at the facts in the case.
“The only thing we're looking for here is for Lt. Knick to have a fair hearing on his grievance before an impartial tribunal," said Traynor. "Not going in front of the city manager, but going in front of a panel of three citizens who can hear all of the evidence both for and against the city's contention that he committed gross negligence at the Township fire. We think we've got plenty of evidence to show that he hasn't."
In an effort to get more evidence, Knick’s attorney filed a Freedom of Information Act, or a FOIA request, several months ago asking for emails from city leaders about the case, reports related to the investigation and all the documentation that was given to the Department of Labor.
But Traynor said the city redacted certain information and is not releasing it all.
“We think additional helpful evidence is in this documentation. The city's refusing to it turn over, and if the city has nothing to hide, why don't they just turn over these documents?” said Traynor.
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We reached out to the City of Hampton to ask if they could provide insight into the situation, why all the documents given to the DOL weren’t given and if they had any message to the public regarding this matter. Here is the full response:
The City of Hampton has consistently followed the Freedom of Information Act to the best of its ability. The City has provided 1,894 records in response to the request, either in full or lawfully redacted pursuant to FOIA exemptions. Obviously, that is a huge volume of records that took our staff a great deal of time to compile and review.
Can the city provide any insight into the situation?
Grievance procedures for former city employees are completely separate matters from every Virginia citizens’ rights under the Virginia Freedom of Information Act. Mr. Knick, through his legal representative, submitted a voluminous FOIA request for records on May 25, 2023. The City has provided 1,894 records in response to the request, either in full or lawfully redacted pursuant to statutory FOIA exemptions. Documents to which statutory FOIA exemptions apply were lawfully withheld only when the exemption applied to the entire content of the record, as is required by law. Any delays in the City’s FOIA response were due to a combination of genuine human error---the City’s initial timely response was missing relevant records due to a typo in the date range entered for an email search, which was corrected as soon as possible after it was discovered---or delays in communications between counsel for both parties while attempting to make reasonable efforts to reach an agreement concerning the production of the records requested.
Why were copies of documents given to the Department of Labor pertaining to the events from 10/21/2022 not released?
FOIA presumes all city records public “except as otherwise specifically provided by law.” Virginia Code Section 2.2-3704(A). Information gathered by the Department of Labor during an investigation is made confidential under Virginia Code Section 40.1-11, for the purpose of encouraging accurate witness testimony and protecting employee privacy. Thus, for all the records given to DOLI during its investigation, the City has (1) produced records that the City possessed regardless of DOLI’s involvement (e.g., scene and gear photos, Standard Operating Procedures, body worn camera footage) subject to applicable statutory FOIA exemptions but (2) withheld correspondence providing information to DOLI for the purpose of its investigation into the injuries that occurred.
Why would the city not provide all requested documents pertaining to Knick’s termination?
The City’s policy for all FOIA records requests is to redact or withhold records with information that is exempted from FOIA by statute.
Does the city have any message to the public regarding this situation?
The City vehemently disagrees with the narrative that it has intentionally violated FOIA for the purpose of interfering with a grievance procedure. These allegations are especially frustrating to the City’s FOIA team, who work tirelessly to respond to an average of 188 FOIA requests every month. Hampton makes every effort to ensure that the City strictly follows all provisions of the Virginia Freedom of Information Act for all Virginia citizens and press who request records.
An attorney for Lt. Eric Knick said a FOIA court hearing that was scheduled for Friday at 1 p.m. has now been postponed until July.
