Los Angeles – A black firefighter who was served dog food in his spaghetti by fellow firefighters will be paid more than $2.7 million to settle a lawsuit alleging racial harassment and discrimination within the Los Angeles Fire Department.
The award, approved 11-1 Wednesday by the Los Angeles City Council, is the latest in a recent string of settlements of lawsuits by firefighters claiming discrimination, harassment and retaliation against those who complain.
It is believed to be the largest payout for misconduct in the history of the department, which was long considered among the nation’s finest, but has been hit for years with complaints of hostility toward black and female firefighters.
The lawsuit, by firefighter Tennie Pierce, 51, alleges that firefighter Jorge Arevalo mixed canned dog food into Pierce’s dinner at their station two years ago.
Pierce “took a large bite, at which time he noticed the other firefighters were laughing and making noises,” the lawsuit says.
He took a second bite, then demanded to know what was in his food, “but no one would tell him. (Pierce) then left the kitchen with his co-workers laughing at him.”
A fire department investigation suggested the incident was intended to “humble” Pierce – who stands 6 foot, 5 inches – after his team won a fire station volleyball game.
A lawyer for one of the defendants initially called the incident “a good-natured prank … (not) in any way motivated by race.”
But a University of California at Santa Cruz professor, who was hired by Pierce’s attorney to review department records of discrimination complaints, said the prank was clearly intended to “humiliate and dehumanize” Pierce.
“The association of a black man and dog food resonates with the deep historical roots of slavery and the corresponding dehumanization,” said sociologist David Wellman, co-author of “Whitewashing Race: Colorblind Policies in a Color Conscious America.” “It’s not just silly stuff. It’s racially motivated. … The organization labels it as macho, ‘boys will be boys’ behavior. I think it’s more about keeping blacks out by making their lives so miserable that they don’t want to stay.”
In addition to three firefighters, the lawsuit named the city as a defendant because two fire captains allegedly allowed a hostile workplace to exist in violation of department policies forbidding harassment. The two captains were given one month off without pay as punishment.
Arevalo was ordered off work for three days without pay.
Councilman Dennis Zine, a police officer for 38 years and the lone vote against the settlement, said he thought the $2.7 million award was “outrageous for something that caused no serious injury, no permanent harm. … That’s not to say it was right, not to justify what they did. But $2.7 million? … I don’t think it was a racial deal. It was a prank that turned sour, but did it go bad to the point that he’s harmed for life? That it should cost the taxpayers $2.7 million?”
