WESTBROOK – Westbrook has reinstated a lieutenant in its fire department who was demoted twice during the past two years.

Lt. Donald Trafford was scheduled to have a hearing to appeal his latest demotion in front of the state’s Board of Arbitration and Conciliation on Tuesday. However, the city agreed to forgo the hearing, and instead reinstate him as a lieutenant and award him back pay for the time he spent working at the lower rank of firefighter.

The reinstatement follows last month’s reinstatement by state arbitrators of firefighter Matthew Lamontagne, who had been fired in December on the basis of an incident in which he touched the breast of a female firefighter. In that case, the board concluded that Lamontagne did not touch the firefighter in a sexually harassing manner, but instead as part of a training exercise.

Trafford was first demoted in December 2008, when he and six other members of the department were punished, following an investigation into harassment claims made by firefighters Kathy Rogers and Lisa Theberge. Trafford was the only one to appeal the discipline, and the state arbitration board reinstated him as a lieutenant in June 2009.

According to Howard Reben, attorney for the firefighters’ union Teamsters Local 340, the city’s reason for demoting Trafford again in December 2009 was based on a conversation Trafford had last year with a third female firefighter who Reben declined to name.

Reben said the firefighter greeted Trafford at work and said she was glad to see him. Trafford responded by saying that he was surprised she was glad to see him, because the report done by Michael Wing, the investigator hired by the city, indicated she had some issues with him. Reben said he then asked her if she’d like to see the report.

According to Reben, the female firefighter later told Wing that the conversation she had with Trafford made her uncomfortable. Reben said Wing never interviewed three people who witnessed the interaction, but, more recently, City Administrator Jerre Bryant did interview them. Soon after, Reben said, Bryant offered to reinstate Trafford without having the hearing.

Bryant confirmed the hearing did not occur but wouldn’t comment on the case.