State to take action against Hawkins

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) - The state agency that certifies paramedics will suspend the license of a firefighter charged with soliciting two 15-year-olds on the Internet.

The Michigan Department of Community Health did not know that Jeffrey Hawkins had been arrested until 24 Hour News 8 contacted the department Friday afternoon.

"This guy's been licensed (as a paramedic) for 15 years," said Sabrina Slee, compliance coordinator with the MCDH. "That concerns me."

Slee confirmed that the state will not issue a paramedic's license to anyone with a sex offense, whether it's a misdemeanor or felony.

"(Paramedics) are in people's homes and their places of business. They are in the back of an ambulance. They are subject to...individuals who may be incapacitated and they are most times unsupervised."

Slee told 24 Hour News 8 there have been two cases in Michigan in recent years in which individuals were assaulted in the back of an ambulance.

There's no evidence that Hawkins assaulted anyone while on duty.

The Belmont man, 40, was convicted of inappropriately touching a teenager in 1997, an offense that landed him on the sex offender registry.

Slee did not know if the rule that keeps sex offenders from getting paramedics licenses was in place in the 1990s when Hawkins first applied. She also did not know if he disclosed his 1997 conviction because the state destroys applications after a couple years.

Hawkins was fired from Plainfield Township, where he served as deputy clerk and a firefighter.