Palmerton fire Chief Larry Zawaly faces charges of theft and receiving stolen property after he took a tool set belonging to a truck driver who had been taken to the hospital after a crash on June 12, police say.

Borough officer Michael R. Fedor charged Zawaly, 61, on July 23. Both charges are misdemeanors.According to a criminal complaint filed first with District Judge William J. Kissner of Palmerton, then transferred to District Judge Edward M. Lewis of Jim Thorpe, here's what happened:Fedor was at the scene of a tri-axle truck rollover at 862 Mauch Chunk Road in Palmerton, along with other police officers, fire and ambulance crews.When the truck was lifted back onto its wheels, Fedor walked over to it to get the registration and insurance cards. He noticed that some of the driver Jhonny Monsalve's personal items had been thrown from the truck and were lying on the sidewalk.A short time later, Fedor saw Zawaly walk over to the items. Zawaly stopped, looked twice to his left and to his right, then bent down and picked up a tool kit.Zawaly turned and walked toward Palmerton firetruck 711, holding the tool kit against his left thigh, Fedor said.He walked to the driver's side compartment just behind the cab. He opened the left door of the compartment, looked to an unidentified firefighter to his left, lifted up the tool kit for him to see, smiled and nodded up and down, Fedor wrote.Zawaly then reached into the right side of the compartment and concealed the tool kit behind fire equipment.Fedor spoke with Zawaly about what he saw. Zawaly said he didn't want the kit to get swept up with debris from the crash. Fedor said he again told him what he saw, but Zawaly didn't respond.The driver confirmed the tool kit was his, and that he wished to prosecute.Zawaly said police "jumped the gun" in charging him."The police department looked at it improperly. It's what we normally did. We usually keep the item on the firetruck until the scene is under control, and then return it. They didn't give the chance to return it," he said in a telephone interview."The charges are ridiculous. I've been with the fire department for 38 years, and at accident scenes, we keep it in the truck if we can't return it immediately. The truck driver was in the hospital, so I couldn't give it to him. The police jumped the gun and filed charges before I could return it. I'm sure it will get straightened out at the hearing."Zawaly said the police took the toolbox at the scene.Zawaly, appointed by the borough as fire chief, also serves as borough code enforcement officer. Borough Manager Rodger Danielson declined to comment.