Union Appeals Fire Investigator's Suspension

The union representing a Columbus arson investigator is appealing the 80 hour suspension he served last month for ordering a motorist out of a car at gunpoint and putting him in handcuffs.

50-year-old Jeffrey Smith ordered 36-year-old Michael Watkins out of the car at Jack Gibbs Boulevard and Cleveland Avenue in January during what Fire Division officials call a road-rage incident. Watkins was sentenced to two months in jail while Smith was not criminally charged. The union wants an arbitrator to review the incident and overturn the suspension.