Ellsworth Fortman crash: A timeline of how the LAFD official dodged discipline
January 2020
After leaving a bar, Los Angeles Fire Department Assistant Chief Ellsworth Fortman crashes his pickup truck into a parked car and a street light, drives home and does not cooperate with sheriff’s deputies who arrive to question him.
Results of an inquiry into a hit-and-run crash by an LAFD assistant chief show how discipline of any kind in the agency is uncommon — especially, critics say, for chief officers.
March 2022
Fortman admits to LAFD investigators that he left the scene of the crash but denies being drunk.
The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department is investigating a hit-and-run case in which an assistant chief for the Los Angeles Fire Department allegedly crashed into a parked car in Santa Clarita and fled to his nearby home.
March 2020
Facing potential criminal charges and an internal investigation, Fortman begins earning overtime from a new assignment helping to manage the city’s COVID-19 testing and vaccination program.
May 2020
Prosecutors charge Fortman with hit-and-run and driving without a valid driver’s license, but he remains on duty.
November 2020
LAFD investigators recommend Fortman be brought before a disciplinary hearing on four charges stemming from the crash.
December 2020
Fortman faces a Board of Rights review to determine culpability and punishment. The hearing is never scheduled.
May 2021
In exchange for the dismissal of the criminal charges, Fortman enters a court-supervised diversion program. He remains on duty and attached to the COVID-19 initiative.
August 2021
State regulators fine Fortman $2,500 for violating codes related to his duties as a paramedic.
March 2022
After queries from The Times, Fire Department officials move to schedule a Board of Rights hearing. Within days, Fortman retires with no punishment after collecting $354,000 in overtime from the COVID-19 assignment.
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