Tuesday, November 21, 2006

No Christmas Money the LA FireFigher

Mayor rejects council's OK of $2.7 million for a black firefighter who said he was harassed, citing photos showing the man hazing others.
By Duke Helfand and Sandy Banks, Times Staff Writers
November 21, 2006


Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa issued the first veto of his administration Monday, striking down the City Council's approval of a lawsuit settlement that would pay $2.7 million to an African American firefighter who contended that he was a victim of racial harassment.

The case involved Tennie Pierce, who sued the city after discovering that dog food had been mixed into a spaghetti dinner served him by fellow firefighters. But the settlement's size, which was the largest in Fire Department history, triggered a swell of negative public reaction that deepened when a website posted photographs of Pierce engaged in hazing pranks.

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