But nothing prevents agencies from voluntarily releasing the reports, he said. ![]() “We would get much more pushback on our audits about what they would allow us to look at or not look at.”Ĭhoosing to keep the audits secret is legal under state law, according to Peter Scheer, head of First Amendment Coalition, a group advocating for greater opening of government. “We try not to be controversial with the departments,” she said. “Being open, it would harm this process,” said Cathy Chidester, the head of the county oversight agency.Ĭhidester said her agency lacks the legal authority to make investigations mandatory and that publicizing negative results could discourage participation. The reports are not routinely published and officials consider them exempt from disclosure under California's public records law. Each year its investigators review local fire departments that respond to calls for medical help. The audit was conducted by Los Angeles County's Emergency Medical Services Agency, which oversees 911 care in the area. Smith may now act as a consultant to the department, according to Batiste. Last week city leaders said a retired fire chief, Rico Smith, would lead an effort to fix the department's problems.īut hiring rules prevented Smith from being appointed while Thompson is on leave pending the city investigation, officials said. “We'll get there one way or the other,” he said. He said he also plans to use city funds to hire a nurse to begin the work of rebuilding the agency's oversight and retraining program, which he said was hampered by budget cuts in recent years. That decision followed a Times report in March that nearly one in four Compton firefighters lacked a permit to perform emergency medical care, a key credential required by other local fire agencies.īatiste said he submitted paperwork on Monday to begin the process of restoring the defibrillators. Everybody has to do their job or else.”Ĭompton's previous chief, Jon Thompson, was placed on leave last week after the disclosure that some city firetrucks and ambulances were stripped of defibrillators, a crucial lifesaving device that rescuers use to deliver a shock to try to restart the heart of a cardiac arrest victim.Ĭounty regulators forced fire officials to remove the machines after the city was unable to produce documentation showing that firefighters had been properly trained to use the equipment. “The oversight just needs to be stronger. “As a department, we've become a little relaxed,” said Bryan Batiste, who was appointed interim fire chief last week. The fire agency was also cited for failing to follow rules designed to identify poor performing medics so they can be retrained or potentially disciplined. The audit criticized Compton paramedics for failing to complete nearly a dozen different types of medical records after delivering emergency care and directs top department officials to launch a broad retraining effort. The six-page audit, delivered to the department in February by county regulators, follows a series of Times reports on breakdowns at the fire agency that prompted city leaders to launch an investigation and place the department's chief on leave. ![]() The Compton Fire Department has failed to properly document emergency medical care and monitor the training and performance of the city rescuers who respond to 911 calls for help, according to a confidential audit obtained by The Times. ![]() The audit criticized medics for failing to complete medical records after delivering emergency care and directs officials to launch a retraining effortĬOMPTON, Calif. Compton was also the brother-in-law of Lost in Space and The Sound of Music star Angela Cartwright.Audit: Calif. Hooker, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Home Improvement, The Young Riders, Babylon 5, Sliders, Charmed, The X-Files, and JAG (his final TV series).Ĭompton married actress Veronica Cartwright in 1982 until his death on August 11, 2007, at the age of 69. Compton then turned to directing full-time, supervising episodes of numerous TV shows, including Hardcastle and McCormick, T.J. Richard Compton (MaAugust 11, 2007) was an American actor/writer/director, who directed the episodes " Down for the Count (Part I)", " Down for the Count (Part II)", " Everybody's in Showbiz", " The Big Thaw", " Badge of Dishonor", " Line of Fire", and " Too Much, Too Late" of the show Miami Vice.Ĭompton began as an actor, appearing in the TV shows Felony Squad and Star Trek: The Original Series (with George Takei), and in the movies Angels Die Hard (also written and directed) and Bury Me An Angel, before turning behind the cameras, writing and directing the "Don't Go To Dixie" movies Macon County Line and its' sequel, Return to Macon County. Veronica Cartwright (1982-2007, his death), one child
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