Stonington — The town’s workplace violence policy gives it the right to immediately suspend or fire the veteran highway department employee involved in a June 23 on-the-job fight with a landscaper on Prentice Williams Road in Old Mystic.

Timothy Keena, however, remains on the job and has been assigned to duties at the highway garage after being charged last Saturday by police with third-degree assault.

He is slated to be arraigned in New London Superior Court on Monday.

First Selectman Rob Simmons said Thursday that a Loudermill hearing, which will give Keena an opportunity to tell his side of the story before the town decides whether to fire or discipline him, will be held within the next two weeks.

During the fight, Keena wielded a paving rake when he confronted the landscaper and later swung it at him, according to the warrant for his arrest.

The town’s workplace violence policy states, “The use of a weapon or any other dangerous instrument in a fight or disagreement with another worker or a member of the public is ground (sic) for an immediate discharge. Similarly, threatening anyone with a weapon also may be treated as grounds for immediate discharge.”

It also adds, "Incident involving weapons or other dangerous instruments are ground (sic) for immediate suspension and may be subject to further disciplinary action including termination from employment." 

Brandishing a dangerous instrument, shouting, shoving and punching all are considered acts of violence under the policy.

The policy applies to any area the employee is assigned to work.

The policy states in bold letters that “The Town will not tolerate acts or threats of violence in its workplace, by employees” and others.

Discipline ranges from oral reprimand to termination. 

Simmons said Thursday that while he accepts that using a dangerous instrument in a fight is grounds for dismissal under the policy, “I also believe an employee has the right to due process."

“This is unprecedented, unusual and has never happened before here. We are doing our best to follow due process in a fair and equitable fashion,” he said.

According to Keena’s arrest warrant, during his fight with landscaper and mixed martial arts competitor Morgan S. Dean, 36, of 29 Clarks Falls Road in North Stonington, Keena brandished a paving rake and at one point was swinging it at Dean.

Dean, who was charged with breach of peace, third-degree assault and second-degree assault, told police that Keena approached him with the rake and began threatening him with it.

He said Keena then used the rake like a hockey stick to cross check him to the bridge of the nose, breaking his glasses.

Police said the wound on Dean's nose was consistent with a glasses frame being forced into the skin.

Both Dean and the highway employees agreed that the dispute began when Dean drove his tractor over a freshly paved piece of road to reach a lawn on the street.

Highway employees began yelling at him to stop and confronted him, using profanities.

Keena told police he approached Dean with a paving rake in his hand and became involved in an argument with him.

He admitted walking over to Dean and asking him “What the (expletive) is your problem?”

Highway worker Joseph Ferraro told police that Dean pushed Keena and Keena pushed back. Dean then punched Keena and Keena retaliated with a punch before falling to the ground, where Dean kicked him in the head.

Keena told police that Dean shoved and punched him and he punched him back.

After Ferraro rushed to help Keena and was punched by Dean, Keena said he got up and grabbed the rake to defend himself.

According to the warrant, Dean and Keena fought for control of the rake at one point and Dean said he threw it into the yard where he was working.

He said Keena later began swinging the rake like a baseball bat as three other highway employees were coming at him.

That’s when Dean picked up a lawn chair “like a lion tamer” and told the four employees coming at him to stop.

“OK, I’ll take on all four of you (expletives),” he said according to the warrant.

At that point the fight stopped.

The workplace violence policy also defines acts or threats of violence to include the use of “vulgar or obscene language,” which Keena said he and another employee used toward Dean before the actual fight began.

The policy adds that employees are required to treat everyone with courtesy.

Simmons said the roles of the other three employees at the scene are not being investigated at this time.

j.wojtas@theday.com