Civil SuitConstitutional RightsDisciplinary ActionDiscriminationDue ProcessMunicipal Liability
California City Settles Discrimination Suit for $2.6 Million
The City of Montebello has agreed to settle a race discrimination suit with an African American firefighter for $2.6 million.
Last year a jury awarded Captain Vernon Creswell $750,000 for racial harassment and $189,000 for retaliation. He claimed he had been subjected to the use of racial slurs and hostility by superiors and fellow firefighters alike. A battalion chief who Captain Creswell accused of repeatedly using racial slurs was subsequently fired and Creswell’s attorney was awarded $1.6 million in fees.
The city appealed the verdict, and while the appeal was pending the parties reached a settlement whereby Captain Creswell will receive a total of close to $2.6 million. He remains on the job in Montebello.
One of these days, firefighters will realize that African-Americans, women, gays/lesbians, Asians, Hispanics, and every other possible variety of human beings are in the fire service for good, and no amount of “good ole boy” “locker room talk” BS is going to make them go away. https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/03aadba0b56d4939b8bd0a8d85c74a90a84250d031117e8454174d0d5eaebf87.jpg