New Haven (CT) Fire Capt. Richard Rife said he never pointed a gun at a fellow firefighter at the Lombard Street firehouse–and never even had the gun that two eyewitnesses said he had, reports the New Haven Independent.
Rife made that claim in an arrest warrant affidavit, where he was arraigned before Judge Michael Kamp on one charge of reckless endangerment. Rife entered no plea Friday. His case was continued until Sept. 25.
Rife, 49, of North Haven, has been on administrative leave since his arrest on Aug. 22; he has filed papers for retirement, according to court records.
Here’s what happened, according to the affidavit:
Police got a call at 9:45 p.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 19 reporting an incident at the Lombard Street firehouse in which Rife had allegedly pulled a gun while on duty.
Police Sgt. Al Vazquez and Sgt. David Zannelli interviewed Lt. Frank Ricci, the vice-president of the firefighters union, about what had happened.
Ricci told police that between 4 and 5 p.m. that day, around the time of shift change, he stopped by 412 Lombard St. to speak with a firefighter. Ricci was approached by firefighter Michael Guercia, firefighter Daniel Coughlin, and Acting Fire Captain Steven Durand. They began to chat near a car that was parked on the street outside the firehouse. Durand left and Rife joined the group; they began discussing the firefighters contract.
During the conversation, Rife “began making derogatory remarks about Durand” and called him a “coward,” Ricci told police. Rife and Durand “have a strained relationship because Durand disciplined Rife a few months ago over an argument he had with a civilian,” the affidavit reads. Ricci told Rife twice to “cut it out,” but Rife kept talking trash about Durand. Ricci told Rife to “holster your weapon”–which he intended as a figure of speech to stop speaking ill about Durand.
Rife “suddenly removed a handgun from his waistband, pointed the the gun directly at [Ricci] and placed it back inside his waistband area,” Ricci told police. Ricci told police he didn’t know Rife was packing heat at the firehouse until Ricci was staring at the barrel of the gun. Ricci described the gun as “a small, black, semiautomatic handgun, possibly small caliber.” Ricci said he was about 2 to 3 feet away from Rife at the time.
Ricci said despite having a gun pointed at him, he did not “fear for his life.” The two had not been arguing at the time; they had been discussing Durand. Ricci said he did not feel threatened. However, he was “upset that the incident occurred” because “he did not want to get shot by accident.”
里奇没有立即报告这一事件lice. He went home and made some union-related phone calls. Then he got a call from Durand at 6:51; Durand said he had gotten into a verbal argument with Rife at the same firehouse. “Concerned that the incident may have been more serious than he originally believed,” Ricci ultimately reported the incident to fire union President Jimmy Kottage and to Assistant Fire Chief Pat Egan.
Ricci told police that Rife has legally registered firearms and works part-time as a “pest control operator.”
In a separate interview with police, Guercia backed up Ricci’s claim that Rife pulled the gun, according to the affidavit. He told police that he “observed Rife pull out a black, semi-automatic handgun from the left side of his waistband with his left hand after Ricci told Rife to holster his weapon.”
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