The Gazette offers audio versions of articles using Instaread. Some words may be mispronounced.

MARION — The Marion Civil Service Commission has upheld the firing of a firefighter found to have pressured a coworker to not report an incident of workplace violence.

The three-member commission filed its findings Tuesday, validating the Nov. 1 termination of former firefighter William Zamastil. According to a specification of charges and grounds, Zamastil violated portions of the employee handbook related to retaliation and dishonesty.

“Firefighters, like all civil servants, … must be held to a higher standard when it comes to their conduct,” the ruling states. “This retaliatory conduct erodes the trust in the department and cannot be dismissed when the firefighting profession relies heav

See Full Page