Lawsuit Blasts FDNY For Hiring Cops Who Shot Amadou Diallo, Rejecting Black Applicants

(Phil Davis NY's Flickr)

A group of black firefighters are back in federal court this week for the next stage in the long-running lawsuit against the FDNY, which they accuse of discriminatory hiring practices. Last year, a judge blocked the FDNY from hiring recruits because he found the FDNY's previous three recruitment exams discriminated against nonwhites. The trial's current phase started off with a bang yesterday, when the plaintiffs submitted a sworn deposition by FDNY official Patricia Kavaler, who testified in 2008 about what she perceived as shady, nepotistic "back room" hiring practices that enabled white firefighter candidates to get hired despite troubling criminal records.

Kavaler recalled that FDNY brass would lobby the review board that looks over candidates' criminal pasts, testifying that lieutenants and captains would call in about candidates and say, " 'This is 'boys being boys.' That sort of thing. 'This is the son of so and so. I lived next-door to him for years, he's a good guy. He beat his wife but his wife took him back so he shouldn't be considered a wife beater.' " The Vulcan Society, a fraternal black firefighter association that's suing the city with the Department of Justice, claims that black and Hispanic candidates without connections have been held to a much higher standard.

Yesterday lawyers for the Vulcan Society also grilled Dean Tow, director of candidate investigations for the FDNY. They were particularly interested in the hiring process for former NYPD cops Richard Murphy and Edward McMellon, who became firefighters after they were cleared by a jury of gunning down unarmed Bronx man Amadou Diallo in an infamous blaze of 41 bullets. A lawyer for the Vulcan Society asked Tow yesterday, "Did you have any concern that, perhaps, in shooting an innocent civilian ['the cops'] judgment, while although not criminal, may have been faulty?" The Daily News reports that Tow "tersely" replied, "No."

The special trial is an attempt to force the FDNY to change the way it recruits candidates, and require the department to more closely monitor workplace mistreatment, like when somebody stashes a noose in a black FDNY member's locker. Recently, the department launched a new ad campaign aimed at increasing the minority applicant pool, and officials tell the Post they're seeing a three-fold rise in black applicants for its next entrance exam.

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By John Del Signore in News on August 2, 2011 12:00 PM

Comments [rss]

crusher153

honestly, i go to my firehouse everyday and some one is getting harrassed for being whoever they are (myself included). most of it is just poking fun at each other.

then there are the jackasses in the firehouse. they are made fun of not because of their skin color or religion or anything else for that matter. they are harassed because they are a detriment to everyones safety during emergency operations or they feel they are above everyone else and don't do what they are supposed to do around the firehouse. we rely on each other in a fire or at another type of emergency. if a firefighter doesn't pull their weight, other firefighters can get seriously injured or worse (civilians too).

if someone put a noose in my locker, i wouldn't be looking at them. i'd be taking a closer look at myself!

LICnative

The last time I checked, being white wasn't a crime. If they weren't convicted of a crime, what exactly would the basis be for denying them employment? Neither lost their employment with the NYPD after the incident, even when applying the kangaroo court that passes as "justice" within the NYPD's administrative trial room.

If your house is on fire, both these idiots will be the first one to climb through the smoke and flames to safely remove you from the threat of death or serious injury. The bigger outrage would seem to be one special interest group who wish to replace competetive civil service exams with a jerry rigged system that rewards that group for just showing up.

A functional retard can pass the fire test. If you fail it, don't cry racism, get thee immediately to the nearest mental health facility and get yourself evaluated. Show up on time, take the test, pass the test. It ain't rocket science.

crusher153

couldn't have said it better myself.

ONE_LESS_FIXED_GEAR

I'm all for neptism, cronyism, etc. Let's be realistic, it's part of what makes the real world go round', regardless of what type of work or job it is. If you don't have contacts, or "go to" people who can vouch for you and help you out, then go out and make some. But to actually hire the Amadou shooters...hmmm, that's pretty much off the ridiculous scale. That's a dumbass move, professionally.

John Joyce

Last I checked they weren't convicted and so they are entitled to all of the same rights and privileges as the rest of us. Oh, and they have a background in emergency services so they probably were quick starters.