Stonington — The town has suspended highway department worker Timothy Keena for five days without pay for an on-the-job fight with a private landscaper in June.

Under the town’s workplace violence policy, it had the right after the June 23 incident on Prentice Williams Road to immediately suspend or fire Keena, as it did in 2013 when it found he violated the policy by threatening an employee.

It is unclear if the policy was in effect in 1991, when the town said Keena was verbally abusive to one supervisor and initiated physical contact with his foreman while threatening both men.

During the June 23 fight, Keena swore at the landscaper, wielded a paving rake when he confronted the man 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.”

Keena, who has worked for the town for 32 years and earns $65,956 in base pay, will lose $1,268 in pay as he serves his suspension this week.

He also will have to attend anger management counseling outside of work hours.

He can appeal the decision through his union.

In her letter to Keena informing him of the discipline, Director of Public Works Barbara McKrell informed him that he violated the workplace violence policy and that it is the town’s policy to provide a workplace free from physical and verbal attacks.

She added that if he fails to successfully complete his anger management counseling, additional discipline could occur.

In addition, a letter of reprimand will remain in his personnel file.

“In closing you should be advised that upon returning to work you will be expected to correct the problems related to your behavior. Failure to do so could result in the termination of your employment,” McKrell wrote.

Last week, The Day filed a Freedom of Information request with the town seeking any records of complaints filed against Keena during his tenure as a town employee, as well as records of any other disciplinary actions against him.

On Wednesday, the town provided the letter of discipline and a letter of intent to discipline sent to Keena in regards to the June 23 fight, as well as letters relating to three other incidents of discipline, one from 2013 and two from 1991.

The town did not produce any complaints filed against Keena.

In the 2013 incident, former Director of Public Works Joe Bragaw wrote to Keena that while he was interviewing another employee about a workplace violence incident that had occurred, Keena walked by and told the employee “not to tell me anything and if he did he would be a rat.”

Bragaw said he confronted Keena who said “that guys should not be a rat” and that Bragaw should let go the behavior he was investigating without discipline.

Bragaw told Keena his comments were obstructing his investigation and harassing to his co-workers who are required by the workplace violence policy to report any act or threat of violence to their department head.

“Inferring that employees are being a 'rat' to tell me what happened in an incident investigation is totally unacceptable behavior for any employee in this department, but especially one who is in a supervisory capacity in our Department,” Bragaw wrote.

Keena was given a written warning and told that if he continued to disregard the policy, he may be subject to further discipline.

Bragaw attached a copy of the policy with the warning letter, so Keena could “fully understand” what is in the policy.

In November of 1991, Keena was told his verbal abuse toward a supervisor, initiating physical contact with a foreman and threatening both of them constitutes a “serious offense” that, if repeated, could lead to further and more severe discipline.

At the time Keena apologized to the employees and agreed to meet with the representative from the town’s Employee Assistance Program “to discuss ways with dealing with stress in a more positive manner.”

The Employee Assistance Program will now provide Keena with his upcoming anger management counseling.

Also in 1991, Keena received a written warning for failing to report to his assigned work site in a timely manner.

Following the June 23 fight, Keena was charged with third-degree assault. He pleaded not guilty and his case is pending in New London Superior Court.

The landscaper, Morgan S. Dean, 36, of 29 Clarks Falls Road, North Stonington, has been charged with breach of peace, third-degree assault and second-degree assault after police say he assaulted Keena and another highway employee. His case also is pending in court.

Both Dean, who is a mixed martial arts competitor, 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, asking him “What the (expletive) is your problem?”

Dean 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.

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. At that point the fight stopped.

j.wojtas@thewday.com