WESTBROOK – A Westbrook firefighter resigned Monday following assault charges stemming from an arrest in October.

Peter O’Hara, 33, was arrested and charged with assault on Oct. 11 at PT’s Showclub in Portland. According to the Portland police report, he was arraigned on Nov. 20, and has a dispositional conference on Feb. 4.

Westbrook Mayor Colleen Hilton indicated Monday that if O’Hara hadn’t resigned, she was “prepared” to terminate him, given his probationary status. Firefighters begin with a six-month probationary period.

For the past few years, the Westbrook Fire Department has worked to establish and maintain a positive image following a string of controversies, and the O’Hara resignation can be seen as a signal that there is a low tolerance for missteps.

The arrest was labeled a Class D assault, a misdemeanor, and the lowest classification for the charge.

O’Hara was sworn in along with five new firefighters at a ceremony on Nov. 6 at the Westbrook Performing Arts Center at Westbrook Middle School, roughly three weeks after his arrest.

On Monday, Hilton said O’Hara had resigned his position, and City Administrator Jerre Bryant confirmed the resignation Tuesday. According to Bryant, O’Hara began in the department as a per diem worker earlier in 2014.

Westbrook Fire Chief Andrew Turcotte also confirmed O’Hara’s resignation Tuesday, but said all comments on personnel matters must go through the mayor’s office.

Hilton said there is “zero tolerance” for this type of behavior within the ranks of public safety.

“There is an expectation that public safety officials will conduct themselves with the appropriate amount of professionalism, and this does not rise to the occasion,” she said Monday.

Hilton said the six-month probationary period exists as a way for an employer to evaluate an employee’s “compatibility with the job.”

Hilton added that since the arrest, the department has been in the process of discussions on discipline. She said that while there are indications that the charges against O’Hara could be dropped prior to his February hearing, the move is about “behavioral expectations.”

“We’ve had a lot of issues there, and this doesn’t match what I want for the department,” she said.

Ed Marzano, a business agent for the Teamsters Local 340 union, which represents Westbrook firefighters, did not return a call seeking comment by the American Journal’s deadline Tuesday.

The city’s strict stance stems from years of controversy within the fire department, leading to Hilton’s shakeup of the department in 2010 and eventual consolidation of the police and fire departments.

In 2008, two female firefighters in Westbrook filed sexual harassment lawsuits, which were eventually settled out of court. Their complaints led to a city investigation and the punishment of seven firefighters in December 2008. During her inauguration in 2010, Hilton transformed the department by not reappointing the chief.

This past year, two female Westbrook police officers filed notices of claim of sexual harassment, but have yet to file a suit in court. In September, Michael Pardue resigned his post as public safety chief, and since that time, former Portland police veteran Janine Roberts has taken over the police department, while Turcotte, the former deputy chief, has stepped into the chief’s role.