KC firefighter involved in fatal Westport crash to get job back, can drive again
A Kansas City fire truck driver involved in the deadly 2021 crash in Westport that killed three people must get his job back, receive full back wages and benefits and serve a three-day suspension without pay, an arbitrator has ruled.
Arbitrator Leland Shurin also authorized firefighter Dominic Biscari to drive a fire apparatus again and work temporarily at a higher rank.
And the city and the Kansas City Fire Department must scrub from Biscari’s personnel and KCFD files any reference other than the three-day suspension, Shurin ordered. The records must only state that “he was involved in a MVA (motor vehicle accident) while on duty, which, with his negligence and along with the negligence of others, resulted in fatalities.”
A final version of the ruling, which was first issued last year and then challenged by the city, was filed in Jackson County Circuit Court last week and awaits the court’s confirmation.
“The City and Fire Department are directed to make Mr. Biscari whole in every regard, including full back pay and any and all benefits pursuant to the CBA (Collective Bargaining Agreement) due as a result of this Award and his employment,” Shurin wrote.
The original arbitration award ordered the city to pay the union’s attorneys’ fees and expenses incurred in pursuing the grievance. But in his modified award, Shurin said each party would bear its own expenses and the city would pay his fees.
The city has 30 days to respond to the union’s request for the court to confirm the ruling. Union officials expect the court’s approval to go smoothly. City spokeswoman Sherae Honeycutt declined to respond to questions about the ruling.
“The city cannot comment on legal matters,” she said in an email to The Star.
Mayor Quinton Lucas’ office issued a statement in response to the issue.
“The Mayor and City Council previously rejected a proposed settlement in the Biscari matter, directing the City Attorney to pursue all legal remedies to override the arbitrator’s order,” the statement said. “That direction and litigation activity in Missouri state court are still active.
“The Mayor continues to extend his condolences to the family, coworkers, and friends of Jennifer San Nicolas, Michael Elwood, Tami Knight, and all who loved them.”
Immediately after the December 2021 crash, Biscari was assigned to desk duty at fire department headquarters. Six months after that, the city and the union agreed to let him return to full duty as a firefighter, as no charges had been filed by then, but he was prohibited from driving a fire truck.
Biscari pleaded guilty in February 2023 to three counts of involuntary manslaughter, avoiding a jury trial in which he faced the possibility of being convicted and sentenced to up to 12 years in prison. He instead was sentenced to three years’ probation and 40 hours of community service.
Suspended without pay
After Biscari’s plea, the city suspended him without pay and announced plans to fire him. The International Association of Firefighters Local 42 filed a grievance to block Biscari’s termination, saying the collective bargaining agreement between the city and the union required the city to have just cause to discipline an employee and to provide due process to the employee.
A hearing was held in early 2024, and Shurin ruled in Biscari’s favor that March. The city filed a civil suit asking the court to vacate the ruling, arguing that Shurin exceeded his authority in deciding what Biscari’s punishment would be when that was not at issue in the grievance. The court sent the matter back to Shurin. Attempts at further mediation failed, and Shurin issued his final ruling on Aug. 18.
“The union is satisfied with the final award issued by the arbitrator,” said Raymond Salva, an attorney for Local 42, in an interview with The Star. “Where we are today is the product of several procedural defects on the part of City of Kansas City to give Dominic Biscari the process that he was due under the collective bargaining agreement negotiated by the city, which includes very clear provisions guaranteeing firefighters, paramedics and other personnel in Local 42 the right to due process and just cause for discipline.”
Salva said it was unknown whether the city would fully comply with the arbitrator’s ruling.
“There has been a mixed bag on city compliance,” he said. “We have several issues before the city right now that we’re hopeful will be cooperatively resolved. The union is always inviting of good faith negotiations to avoid disputes whenever necessary. We see the city as our partners in public safety, but sometimes it takes a little while.”
Biscari’s attorney, Kevin Regan, declined to comment on the ruling, referring The Star to another Local 42 attorney. In a statement issued after Biscari’s plea in 2023, Regan said that Biscari “has no criminal history or history of traffic violations.”
“He is a fine young man who made a mistake in judgment,” Regan said, adding that Biscari cooperated fully with the police investigation and with the victims’ families on civil suits related to the case.
“Sadly, the City has failed Dominic and his fellow firefighters in several ways,” Regan said. “We hope the City will take measures to make sure this type of accident never happens again.”
The Dec. 15, 2021 crash
The arbitrator’s opinion said that Biscari, then 21, was driving Pumper 19 northbound on Broadway Boulevard on Dec. 15, 2021, on the way to a house fire. At about 10:19 p.m., it said, the pumper entered the intersection of Westport Road and Broadway against a red light with the emergency lights, siren and horn activated.
The pumper then struck a Honda CR-V that was heading west on Westport Road and had entered the intersection. The Honda, which the document said had crossed in front of the pumper while exceeding the speed limit, became stuck in the truck’s bumper.
The pumper and attached Honda then hit three parked vehicles — one of which struck a pedestrian — and crashed into a building at 4050 Broadway. The pedestrian and both Honda occupants were killed in the crash.
“The police investigation by the Kansas City Police Department determined from the vehicle data recorder that Pumper 19 was traveling 51 miles per hour in a 35 MPH zone and from surveillance camera footage that the traffic light against which Pumper 19 drove had been red for 16 seconds,” Shurin wrote in his ruling. “While traveling with emergency warnings activated, Pumper 19 was not required to come to a stop at the red light.”
The document said that the driver of the Honda did not stop for the oncoming pumper.
Biscari had not been formally trained to drive the pumper, Shurin wrote, because neither the city nor the fire department provided it.
“Fire fighters just learn to drive by operating the fire apparatus at other than emergency situations,” Shurin said.
The decision to reassign Biscari to a position at the KCFD administration offices immediately after the crash was agreed upon by then-Fire Chief Donna Lake and Local 42, which represents most Kansas City firefighters, the document said. Shurin said that the decision deprived Biscari of additional income he could receive by driving a fire apparatus or working overtime.
Biscari was assigned back to fire suppression on July 1, 2022, but was not allowed to drive a fire apparatus, the document said.
On Feb. 21, 2023, Biscari pleaded guilty in Jackson County Circuit Court to three counts of involuntary manslaughter, a class E felony, and received a suspended imposition of sentence, placing him on probation for three years.
Shurin said the plea to a class E felony — the least severe class of felonies in Missouri — and suspended imposition of sentence were “a clear indication of the lack of strength of the Prosecutor’s case against Mr. Biscari.”
Two days later, the document said, the assistant to the fire chief sent Local 42 President Dan Heizman an email that contained a copy of a letter to Biscari. The letter said that “Effective immediately, you are suspended from employment without pay ... as a result of being charged with three felony counts of Involuntary Manslaughter ... “
The letter said the suspension would remain in effect until the case was resolved by the court. It said Biscari had a right to a hearing to determine whether there was cause for the suspension.
When Biscari entered the courtroom on Feb. 23, 2023, the document said, KCFD and the city released a statement to the media saying the city would seek Biscari’s termination from the fire department and that he was suspended without pay pending an internal investigation.
Union files grievance
Local 42 filed the grievance on March 7, 2023, saying the actions taken against Biscari violated provisions in the collective bargaining agreement as well as city and KCFD rules, policies and practices.
In his final ruling issued last month, Shurin said that Biscari “has fulfilled every condition of the SIS (suspended imposition of sentence) to date.”
“He appeared during his testimony, at the arbitration, as sincere, honest and desiring to perform whatever terms were set for him by the Court as a result of the SIS,” he wrote.
Shurin said there were two issues the city failed to overcome in order to meet its burden of proof. One involved a thorough fact-finding investigation that it was required to conduct. Another was the discipline it doled out to Biscari compared “to other Fire Department felons and negligent fire apparatus operators.”
“I find that Fact-Finding Investigation to be fatally flawed,” Shurin wrote. There was no review of the facts that led to the fatal crash, he said, and a failure to interview witnesses or examine relevant evidence.
“A review of facts would indicate that while Mr. Biscari may have been negligent, his actions, at the time, certainly did not comprise 100% of the fault leading to the fatalities,” Shurin wrote. “A substantial portion of the fault lies with the driver of the Honda who was exceeding the posted speed limit and entered the intersection, failing to stop to allow a fire apparatus traveling with siren, red lights, and air horn activated to proceed.”
Shurin also said the city failed to formally train Biscari to drive a fire apparatus and did not install a system that changes a traffic light to green for an oncoming emergency vehicle.
And Shurin noted that there was “no consideration of Mr. Biscari’s positive record of service with the Fire Department.”
Biscari had three performance evaluations during his service — on July 21, 2020, Jan. 21, 2021, and Jan. 21, 2022, Shurin wrote.
“The evaluation categories ranged from Unsatisfactory; Marginal; Satisfactory; Better; Optimal,” Shurin said. “On each of his evaluations, Mr. Biscari’s general evaluation was reported as ‘Better.’
“Mr. Biscari, as are other public employees, is entitled to due process. I find that due process includes a fair and thorough Fact-Finding Investigation. Mr. Biscari was denied due process.”
Discipline too harsh compared to other firefighters
Shurin said a comparison of discipline between Biscari and other employees in similar situations showed that he was treated unfairly.
Although a city ordinance allows the city to fire an employee charged with a felony, he wrote, the union’s collective bargaining agreement that was approved by the City Council “provides that the CBA shall take precedence over any Rule or Regulation otherwise adopted by the City Administration.”
“Further, as the parties agree, Mr. Biscari is entitled to just cause,” Shurin said. “Therefore, his discipline cannot be more than the discipline of similarly situated employees. I find that the greater weight of the evidence is that Mr. Biscari has been disciplined to a greater degree than similarly situated employees.”
Shurin said the union provided testimony that showed fire department employees who were involved in serious motor vehicle accidents had not been disciplined. It also offered evidence of employees who had been convicted of serious felonies and were not disciplined.
But the city argued that Biscari’s case was different, he said, because the felonies he was charged with occurred while he was on duty as a firefighter, while the felonies committed by other firefighters occurred when they were off duty.
The city also argued that none of the motor vehicle accidents noted by Local 42 — which occurred while the firefighters were on duty — resulted in felony charges.
Shurin wasn’t swayed by those arguments.
“I find that the difference between a felony charge resulting from an incident while on duty versus off duty is not so distinguishable as to be the basis of substantially different discipline,” he wrote. Shurin added that the city ordinance dealing with employees charged with felonies “does not even reference the difference between on-duty and off-duty felony charges.”
“Whether a City employee/member of the Fire Department commits a felony while on duty or while off duty does not effect that employee’s ability to perform appropriately assigned duties on the job,” Shurin said.
Tim Dollar, a Kansas City attorney who represented the family of one of Biscari’s crash victims, said the union’s argument that Biscari was disciplined unfairly compared to other firefighters was absurd.
“If the highway patrol is out there and they see five speeders doing 90 miles an hour — a danger to the public — and they decide to arrest, and for whatever reason, because they’re busy, or whatever, they let four go, that does not mean that the one they arrested got injustice,” Dollar said. “It means the four they let go got injustice.”
In his ruling, Shurin wrote that at the grievance hearing, both the city and Local 42 “had a full and fair opportunity to present evidence to examine and cross examine numerous witnesses that appeared for each side.”
“This was perhaps the most informal Arbitration in which this Arbitrator has ever participated,” he said. “There was no objection by either side to any testimony or to any offered exhibits, even post-hearing exhibits offered by Local No. 42. The attorneys and the parties that participated and witnesses were civil and, in fact, friendly to one another. There was no animosity shown.
“ … The entire process of this Arbitration, Pre-hearing Conferences, the Hearing itself, and Post-Hearing, in many ways, has been refreshing to this Arbitrator.”
This story was originally published September 16, 2025 at 2:41 PM.
