Clearwater fire chief fired after arrest on sexual battery charge

Clearwater Fire & Rescue Chief Jamie Douglas Geer was arrested today at work, charged with sexual battery on a victim younger than 12.

Geer, 56, of Dunedin, had "sexual encounters" in Pinellas County with a girl during a nine-year period, beginning when she was 8, FDLE investigators said.

Clearwater officials fired Geer after his arrest, the city's public safety spokeswoman Elizabeth Watts said. Deputy Chief Robert Weiss will serve as interim fire chief, she said.

Clearwater City Manager Bill Horne said he was shocked when he learned about the FDLE investigation into Geer.

"Since our senior employees are held to a very high standard, there was no way that he could continue in his capacity as the fire chief," Horne said.

The FDLE began investigating Geer in August after hearing allegations about the fire chief having inappropriate relations with a minor, FDLE spokesman Keith Kameg said.

Jim Madden, FDLE special agent in charge in Tampa, said investigators won't release details of the relationship between Geer and the girl but that Geer didn't use his position of authority with the fire department to commit sexual battery.

The FDLE is investigating Geer regarding his actions only with the one girl, Madden said.

Geer was hired as fire chief on Aug. 23, 2004. He joined Clearwater Fire & Rescue in the wake of criticism about the department's handling of a June 2002 blaze at the Dolphin Cove Condominium that killed two people and injured seven others, including three firefighters.

Former Chief Rowland Herald resigned in 2004 after 25 years with the department. A report released months earlier criticized the department's handling of the Dolphin Cove fire, faulting firefighters for using only one radio channel, which mangled communications, and also blamed a resident for not calling 911 earlier.

According to a message Geer posted on the department's website, "Leadership skills and experience don't mean anything if your team members won't line up behind you and say, 'OK, let's go.' For me, that's priority No. 1. What I enjoy most is the sense of pride when people belong to a fire service organization where employees are happy to come to work and perform their best."

Geer was booked into Pinellas County Jail this afternoon. He is being held on $500,000 bail.