Investigative Report for Matter #25-002
To: Lynn Gelin, City Attorney, City of Delray Beach, FL
From: Erin Jackson, Johnson Jackson PLLC
Date: February 18, 2025
Introduction
This report presents the findings of the investigation into the suspensions of driver’s
licenses of certain personnel within the Delray Beach Fire Rescue Department and their
continued operation of City vehicles during these suspensions. The investigation was
initiated following a collision on December 28, 2024, involving a Brightline train and a
City of Delray Beach fire engine driven by Driver Engineer David Wyatt. The individuals
involved are D/E David Wyatt, FF Jerry Spivey, Lt. Calvin Smith, Lt. John Braswell, and
FF Gregory Lewin. The investigation was conducted to determine whether any City or
Departmental rules or policies were violated by the personnel involved and to assess the
knowledge and actions of Chief Kevin Green and Chief Todd Lynch regarding these
driver’s license suspensions. My findings and recommendations are set forth herein.
Interviewed Personnel
The following individuals were interviewed as part of this investigation. All members of
the Union were accompanied by Union President Craig Mahoney:
1. Chief Kevin Green - Assistant Chief, Delray Beach Fire Department
2. Chief Todd Lynch - Division Chief of Training and Special Operations, Delray
Beach Fire Rescue
3. D/E David Wyatt - Driver Engineer, Delray Beach Fire Rescue
4. Lt. John Braswell - Lieutenant, Delray Beach Fire Rescue
5. FF Gregory Lewin - Firefighter-Paramedic, Delray Beach Fire Rescue
6. FF Jerry Spivey - Firefighter-Paramedic, Delray Beach Fire Rescue
7. Lt. Calvin Smith - Lieutenant, Delray Beach Fire Rescue
Job Duties Requiring Operation of City Vehicles
The positions of Driver Engineer, Firefighter-Paramedic, and Lieutenant within the
Delray Beach Fire Rescue Department require the operation of City vehicles, including
fire engines and rescue trucks. Personnel in these roles must maintain a valid driver’s
license as a condition of their employment. Specifically, the Delray Beach Fire Rescue
Department’s Administrative Policies mandate that personnel operating any Department
vehicle of any type must possess a valid Florida Driver’s License. (Operations Order
1
#2024 A-140, rescinding Admin. Policy I-4-2). These policies have been in place since at
least April 21, 2016.
Additionally, from December 1, 2018 through November 7, 2023, the City’s personnel
policies related to the requirements to have a valid driver’s license applied to bargaining
unit members within Fire Rescue. Policy GA-19; Rev. 3. Those policies provided that
employees must verify their driver's license annually by signing a listing provided by
their Department/Division, confirming the license's validity and expiration
date. Employees with an expired, revoked, canceled, or suspended license were required
to obtain a valid temporary permit or reinstate their license within 90 days. During the
90-day period, employees without a valid license were required to use vacation or
personal days or seek a temporary non-driving position.
Departmental Process for Review of Driver’s License Status
In an effort to ensure compliance with the requirements of Policy GA-19; Rev. 3,
Administrative Policy I-4-2 and later Policy 2024 A-140, the Department implemented a
process for reviewing the status of each Fire Rescue personnel’s driver’s license. The
procedure involved obtaining a report from the Department of Motor Vehicles, which
listed the status of each individual's driver's license as valid, suspended, or expired. This
report was typically reviewed on an annual basis, and the review process involved
scrolling through hundreds of pages of a PDF document that contained the driver's
license status for each employee. If a license was marked as currently valid as of the date
of the report, the reviewer would move on to the next person. If a license was listed as
suspended or expired as of the date of the report, further investigation would be
conducted to address the issue with the individual involved.
The review of the driver’s license status was typically managed by the Assistant Chief of
Operations. During the time pertinent to this investigation, Chief Giaccone was
responsible for overseeing this process. In 2024, Chief Giaconne delegated the duty to
Chief Todd Lynch, who had not ever been asked nor trained on how to conduct such
review in the past. Chief Lynch received PDF document that was approximately 400
pages, listing the status of licenses. He was instructed to check for validity and expiration
dates for all personnel as of the date of the report (May 10, 2024). If a license was
currently suspended, pending suspension, or revoked, he was to notify his supervisor,
Chief Giaccone. During his review, Chief Lynch identified only two concerns -- that
Capt. David Garcia had a pending suspension and D/E Eric Verano's license was shown
as suspended for a year.
In response to these findings, Chief Lynch took the following actions:
1. Upon discovering the issues with Capt. Garcia and D/E Verano, Chief Lynch
immediately notified Chief Giaccone via email. He also informed Capt. Garcia
and D/E Verano about their license status. Capt. Garcia corrected his pending
suspension the same day, and D/E Verano provided proof of correction, stating it
was an insurance issue.
2
2. Chief Lynch instructed D/E Verano's Battalion Chief that D/E Verano was not to
drive any City vehicles until the issue was resolved.
On January 2, 2025, after being informed by Chief Franco that D/E Wyatt’s driver’s
license had been suspended and reinstated prior to the accident in December, 2024, Chief
Lynch reviewed the nearly 400 pages of records again with Chief Franco and identified
ten individuals who had suspensions prior to May 10, 2024, but who had addressed the
issues and had their licenses reinstated prior to Chief Lynch reviewing the report.
Because the history of the suspensions were not on the same page as the section of the
report that showed the current status of the driver’s license and because Chief Lynch was
never instructed or trained to look beyond the current status, he did not become aware of
the prior suspensions until January, 2025.
Chief Lynch took efforts to address the issues of suspended licenses among fire personnel
and ensure compliance with departmental policies.
FINDINGS BASED ON INVESTIGATIVE INTERVIEWS
Chief Kevin Green
Chief Green explained the process used to review the driver's license status of personnel
within the Delray Beach Fire Department. The process involved obtaining a report from
the DMV, which listed the status of each individual's driver's license as valid, suspended,
or expired. This report was typically reviewed on an annual basis, and the review process
involved scrolling through a PDF document that contained the driver's license status for
each employee. If a license was marked as valid, the reviewer would move on to the next
entry. If a license was suspended or expired, further investigation would be conducted to
address the issue with the individual involved.
It was not Chief Green’s responsibility to handle the review of driver's license statuses at
the time in question. Instead, this responsibility was managed by Chief Greg Giaccone,
who was the Assistant Chief of Operations. Chief Giaccone was responsible for
approaching personnel whose licenses were suspended and having a conversation with
them to determine if there was an issue that needed to be addressed.
Chief Green acknowledged that the system relied on an annual report, which might not
reflect current license statuses if changes occurred after the report was generated. He
noted that the process should be re-evaluated to address a delay in receiving up-to-date
information and to ensure that personnel report a suspended license to the chain of
command.
Chief Todd Lynch
As explained in detail above, Chief Lynch was involved in the review of driver’s license
statuses in May 2024 at the direction of Chief Giaconne. He confirmed that the review
process focused on the current status of licenses, checking for validity and expiration
dates, but did not include a review of past suspensions. He was not instructed by Chief
Giaconne to look at the history of the driver’s license status – only the status as of the
date of the PDF report. There was confusion regarding the interpretation of DMV
3
records, as even experienced personnel found it challenging to determine the actual status
of licenses. This was highlighted by the case of D/E Verano, whose license was shown as
suspended, but it was unclear if the suspension was ever enforced. Chief Lynch took
appropriate action and followed the directives of Chief Giaconne to address D/E Verano
and Capt. Garcia’s suspensions. Because he was not instructed to review the past history
and because the history was on a separate page and not easy to interpret, he was not
aware of any other suspensions until January 2025, when he was informed of the issue by
Chief Franco. Upon learning of the concerns, he helped to identify personnel who had
worked and operated City vehicles while having a suspended license.
Chief Lynch's testimony underscores the need for clearer procedures and better
communication regarding the status of driver's licenses to prevent personnel from
operating vehicles while their licenses are suspended.
D/E David Wyatt
D/E David Wyatt’s driver’s license was suspended from August 28, 2023, to December
8, 2023, due to failure to attend a required driving school following a car accident in
June, 2023. Wyatt explained that when he received a citation for the car accident, he was
given a choice of either paying the ticket or attending a driving class. He elected the
driving class but then he failed to attend. There was no reason for the failure to attend
other than “just being lazy and forgetting.” As a result of the failure to attend the class,
Wyatt’s license was suspended. He claimed to have learned of the suspension in January,
2025, through a Facebook page. However, his explanation on the timing of notice about
the suspension raises question as to his credibility on this issue.
The documentation established that notice was given to Wyatt in October, 2023, that his
license was suspended. He says he does not remember this notice; however, it is clear
that he was aware of an issue with his license by at least December, 2023, when he
contacted the Police Department to ask what he needed to do to correct the fact that he
missed the deadline for taking the class. He was told that he needed to pay the ticket,
which he did on December 8, 2023. Wyatt continued to work and operate City vehicles
during the period of time of the license suspension from August 28, 2023, through
December 8, 2023, as confirmed by time records. This is contrary to applicable City
policy at the time (GA-19; Rev. 3) as he should have taken leave to address the
suspension rather than ignoring it and continuing to work. He acknowledged
understanding the requirement to maintain a valid driver's license for his role.
Wyatt attempts to excuse the fact that he operated a City vehicle while having a
suspended license by claiming that he was not aware of the suspension until January,
2025. However, the documentation, timing, and his own actions, indicate that he was in
fact aware by at least December, 2023 of the status and suspension of his license for
failure to comply with the requirement that he take the driving class or pay the ticket.
Lt. John Braswell
Lt. John Braswell’s license was suspended from September 19, 2023, to November 15,
2023, due to a failure to pay a traffic fine. He became aware of his license suspension
when he was pulled over by the Boynton Beach Police in 2023. The suspension was due
4
to an unpaid red light camera ticket, which Lt. Braswell was unaware of until the traffic
stop. He addressed the issue within a week by paying the outstanding fine. Braswell was
uncertain whether he reported the suspension to his supervisor but understood the
necessity of maintaining a valid license for his duties.
FF Gregory Lewin
FF Gregory Lewin, a Firefighter Paramedic, learned of his license suspension sometime
after October 2021 through a letter in the mail. He was not certain as to when he received
the notice. The suspension was due to non-payment of his auto insurance, possibly
related to a change in insurance or debit card. Upon learning of the suspension, FF Lewin
worked quickly to reinstate his license as soon as possible, completing the requirements
by January 12, 2022.
Jerry Spivey
FF Jerry Spivey’s license was suspended from July 24, 2023, to July 31, 2023. FF Spivey
discovered his license suspension due to a lapse in car insurance payments, which
occurred because his ex-wife stopped making payments without informing him. Spivey
acted immediately upon learning of the suspension, making a payment to reinstate his
insurance and license on the same day he became aware of the issue. Spivey understood
the importance of maintaining a valid driver's license for his position and recalled a
policy requiring notification of such issues within 24 hours.
Calvin Smith
Calvin Smith’s license was suspended from June 3, 2022, to March 30, 2023. Lt. Smith
learned of his license suspension when Chief Giaccone informed him in March 2023. The
suspension resulted from Lt. Smith's failure to surrender the license plate of a sold
vehicle, leading to an insurance lapse. Smith was unaware of the suspension until the
conversation with Chief Giaccone and promptly paid the necessary fine the following day
to reinstate his license. He acknowledged the requirement to have a valid driver's license
for his role and expressed concern upon learning of the suspension.
This report contains findings of fact and is submitted for your review and further action
as deemed appropriate.
Conclusion
The investigation revealed that though efforts were made to ensure that all personnel
operating City vehicles did so with a valid driver’s license, the review process for
driver’s licenses was inadequate and had gaps due to focusing only on current status
without considering historical suspensions.
Both Chief Green and Chief Lynch were unaware of the suspensions due to the
limitations of the review process. The investigation found no evidence of policy
violations by the Chiefs, but it highlighted significant gaps in the Department’s
procedures for monitoring and reporting driver’s license statuses. The findings suggest a
need for clearer communication and enforcement of reporting requirements for license
suspensions within the Department.
5
Files Reviewed:
• Lewin DL [Link]
• Spivey DL [Link]
• Smith DL [Link]
• Braswell DL [Link]
• Wyatt DL [Link]
• General Vehicle Regulations [Link]
• General Vehicle Regulations [Link]
• Driver Engineer-Paramedic Job [Link]
• Firefighter Paramedic Job [Link]
• Fire Lieutenant Job [Link]
• GO-DL-2025 DL [Link]
• Driver licenses check [Link]
• Email from Chief Lynch to Chief Giaconne dated May 14, 2024
• Emails from Chief Lynch to Chief Franco dated January 3, 2024
• IAFF Collective Bargaining Agreement 2023-2026
• Personnel Policies and Procedures Manual
• Memorandum Dated January 2, 2025 to All Personnel
• GA-19; Rev. 3
