A federal judge attributed the conduct of the firefighters who booed New York Attorney General Letitia James at a promotion ceremony to “race,” not politics.
James was at that ceremony on March 7 to honor the Fire Department of New York’s first Black female chaplain, Rev. Pamela Holmes. As soon as she took the podium, several firefighters heckled her and chanted, “Trump! Trump! Trump!” during her remarks.
In light of that incident, the Vulcan Society of Black Firefighters president, Regina Wilson, openly vilified the fire department, stating the firefighters’ “vile” behavior at the ceremony represents a widespread agency culture.
“This behavior is who this department is,” Wilson said, according New York Daily News. “Not all of them, but a large portion of them. So when Black people go to work and have to deal with this and you don’t get any help or support really from the department, it’s horrific.”
She also criticized the growing backlog of equal opportunity complaints the department has yet to investigate or resolve.
Now, Brooklyn Federal Court Judge Nicholas Garaufis has ordered the FDNY commissioner and the city’s top attorney to appear before him to supply some answers to why those complaints haven’t been addressed. City policy dictates EEO complaints be fully investigated within 90 days of submission.
Garaufis also commented on the firefighters’ conduct toward James at the ceremony, which took place shortly after she obtained from a judge a fine against Trump of $454 million for illegally inflating his assets on official financial documents.
“I’ve lived in New York City all my life. I know what the problem is. And believe me, front and center is what happened the other day,” Garaufis stated. “This doesn’t have to do with politics, this has to do with race.”
Some people went on the offense against Garaufis for his remarks.
“These heroes that run into burning buildings, and save lives, are being suppressed…
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