So, let's review. You are a Lieutenant/paramedic that has not performed a task twice in 35 days that, while not life-threatening, endangers your department's ability to use narcotics in the pre-hospital setting by violating federal controlled dangerous substances regulations.
You are not the first and will not be the last. Time for an assessment ...
1) In the employee meeting you were provided with a laundry list of work performance issues. Understand that in the world of municipal negative discipline there is always a piling-on of issues. Some may be valid, others may be nonsense. The organization's goal is to describe your work performance in the worst way possible. It sounds cruel, but that is what goes on.
2) Are you a member of an IAFF local? Talk to the grievance/discipline guru to get a different perspective on what happened to you. Perhaps you are being used as the example of fire department accountability. One high profile case usually gets everyone's attention.
3) Were you provided with a work improvement plan? If not, I am sure you can construct one based on the meeting and related documentation.
4) Is there something going on that is making you more forgetful and indecisive? [DO NOT POST A RESPONSE TO THIS QUESTION!]
5) Are they trying to get you to quit, demote you or fire you? Three day suspension on a second offense of an administrative task appears excessive, perhaps they are using narcotic issue to punish you for a behavior, attitude or peformance that hs more difficult to document within the personnel regulations
Take a deep breath and get a copy of the personnel regulations. You have three options:
A) Appeal the proposed suspension through the civil service system. The civil service system is designed to be adversarial. You may get it down to a written reprimand, a diversion or a half-day suspension. This is where your local can help.
B) Ask your law enforcement buddies the name of the lawyer they would talk to if they were getting fired. You can file a lawsuit once you exhaust the civil service process. You should talk to an attorney well-versed in public safety personnel issues early in the process.. It is expensive and has a relatively poor return on investment. I looked at suing my department, the attorney fees would chew up the first six years of the increase pay I would have received if I won the case.. After spending close to $1000 for legal consultation, I decided to not sue and started graduate school..
C) Suck up the suspension and do not appeal, figure out what you need to do to stay out of the penalty box in the future.
A suspension is not a career-ending event, but it is a significant speed-bump.
Good luck with whatever you decide to do.
Mike
added in later edits - Please appreciate that I will not provide further discussion about your case here or in private - it is unwise to share your personnel issues in a public forum