Apply Even Hand on Fisticuffs

An Administrative Law Judge has recommended a 60-day suspension for a Sanitation Worker who punched out his supervisor after they "stepped outside" to settle a dispute.

The ALJ, Kevin Casey, said in his decision that he rejected the claim of the Sanman, Thomas Bacigalupo, that he was acting in self-defense after Assistant Chief Nicholas Saggese threw the first punch because "he willfully engaged in an on-duty fight and did not take reasonable steps to avoid the altercation."

Fair enough. But what if any discipline is the department doling out to Mr. Saggese, who has a reputation for bellicosity with subordinates?

Regardless of whether you believe Mr. Bacigalupo's claim that Mr. Saggese threw the first punch, there is no question that he agreed to go outside to settle their differences. While both claim they did so because it was noisy inside the building, "taking it outside" has long been a phrase associated with using fists to resolve what words can't.

If Mr. Bacigalupo was at fault for not, in ALJ Casey's words, taking "reasonable steps to avoid the altercation," isn't Mr. Saggese's culpability greater, since his much-higher rank in the department is supposed to connote a greater sense of responsibility?

There is no question that Mr. Saggese got the worst of the confrontation: he suffered a fractured eye socket and a mild concussion. But as the ALJ noted, both men were "willing participants in a verbal altercation that escalated to violence."

That should mean that Mr. Saggese also receives some meaningful discipline, and the fact that he outranks Mr. Bacigalupo should not work in his favor. When two employees agree to take it outside, there is an implicit understanding that they are forsaking such advantages for the right to act like overgrown teenagers.

Commissioner John Doherty, who has final disciplinary authority in Mr. Bacigalupo's case, must be careful to strike the right balance in dealing with the two brawling employees.