Case dismissed against fire chief slapped with ticket

It took all of 20 minutes this morning for a traffic court judge to dismiss a ticket against North Merrick Fire Chief James Allen that a state trooper issued on the Meadowbrook Parkway on Jan. 26.

The trooper slapped Allen with the citation after he refused to move his emergency vehicle at an accident scene, believing that doing so would create unsafe working conditions for his volunteers. The trooper wanted the vehicle moved to free up a lane of the parkway amid a heavy snowstorm.

Allen left traffic court in Hempstead surrounded by nearly a hundred firefighters after his case was dismissed. "It definitely felt good that everyone was there supporting me, and knowing that I did the right thing,” said Allen, who is his fifth year as North Merrick’s chief.

In January, a car struck a guardrail on the Meadowbrook, spun around and came to rest in the center lane. Upon arriving at the scene, Allen parked his vehicle in the right lane to block traffic while aiding the accident victim. The trooper, who has remained unidentified, arrived and ordered Allen to remove his vehicle. Allen refused, and the trooper issued him a citation.

Of the firefighters present at the courthouse, about 25 of them were from the North Merrick department, according to Allen. "It's a sign of solidarity,” said volunteer and former chief Paul Wilders. “That's really what it comes down to.”

“We're all on the same team,” Wilders added. “We all just wanted to support Chief Allen, because we believe that he absolutely did the right thing, not only for scene preservation, but for the safety of the membership, the victim and for the safety of the state troopers as well."

When the firefighters arrived at the courthouse, the assistant district attorney stopped the proceedings momentarily, according to Wilders. “He said, ‘Hey everybody, I just want to let you know, all these guys here are all volunteer firefighters from Nassau County. They all serve in your local community. Give them a round of applause,’ and everybody did. It was a really nice thing,” Wilders said.

Allen, who pleaded not guilty, said his verdict was met with cheers from the firefighters.

Also present at the courthouse to lend support was the accident victim, as well her mother. The state trooper who issued the citation to Allen was not present, since he did not need to be unless the case went to trial.

"We just want to move on, put it behind us and work with the state troopers like we've done in the past,” Allen said.

Comments about this story? DWeingrad@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 236.