Firefighters in Trouble

Mayor Mark Mallory says he thinks City Manager Milton Dohoney is handling the efforts to improve the off-duty conduct of Cincinnati firefighters well and he supports Dohoney's idea of a code of ethics for the fire department.

"We certainly hope that that would take care of any problems that may exist," the mayor said Tuesday.

The code suggestion came in a memo dated last week, four days before the latest arrest of a firefighter, Ryan Norman, 31, of Mount Healthy. He was arrested Friday in New Mexico and accused of transporting more than 200 pounds of marijuana.

Check out the story about Norman here.

And here's more of what Dohoney suggested last week to Fire Chief Robert Wright:

1. Collaborating with the fire union on alcohol education and information on how to avoid or get help for domestic violence situations:

2. Make drug and other convictions a factor in promotions.

Dohoney also agreed with other ideas Wright sent him. Among those: Ethics and character workshops; and incorporating the "expectation of ethical behavior" in performance evaluations.

He said he did not agree with tying compensation to ethical behavior because "in our profession of public service, performing ethically should be a given and we should not pay extra to get it."