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 Wednesday by the City Council, is believed to be the largest payout for misconduct in the history of the department, which has been dogged for years by complaints of hostility toward black and female firefighters.
The lawsuit, by firefighter Tennie Pierce, 51, alleges that a firefighter mixed canned dog food into Pierce's dinner at their station two years ago and that two captains were in on the trick. All three men were present when Pierce ate the dog food.
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 is 6-foot-5--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, Santa Cruz, professor 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."
In his lawsuit, Pierce said that for more than one year after the October 2004, incident he was subjected to "verbal slurs, insults [and] derogatory remarks"--including taunting by firefighters "barking like dogs."
Councilman Dennis Zine, the lone vote against the settlement, did not defend the prank but said the $2.7 million award was "outrageous for something that caused no serious injury, no permanent harm."
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