Essay 4490

From The Los Angeles Times…

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L.A. to pay firefighter nearly $1.5 million
Mayor signs off on a deal in which Tennie Pierce will drop lawsuit claims and retire from the department.

By David Zahniser
Los Angeles Times Staff Writer

Averting a trial that could have revealed embarrassing details about hazing within the Los Angeles Fire Department, the City Council voted Friday to pay nearly $1.5 million to a black firefighter who was served a meal laced with dog food by his colleagues.

The agreement brought to a close a dispute that had caused racial division in the city, compelled Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa to impose his first veto and prompted the departure of the city’s longtime fire chief.

Firefighter Tennie Pierce had filed suit stemming from an incident in 2004 in which he was served a spaghetti dinner that secretly included dog food while he was on duty at Fire Station No. 5 in Westchester. Although some colleagues described it as a prank that played on the 6-foot-5 Pierce’s nickname, “Big Dog,” Pierce alleged racial discrimination.

The case originally was headed for trial Monday. A spokesman for City Atty. Rocky Delgadillo said the settlement reached Friday afternoon pushed the total cost of the case to $2.8 million once $1.3 million in legal expenses accumulated by the city since December are factored in. That is slightly more than the $2.7-million settlement offered by the council last year but rejected by Villaraigosa.

This time, the mayor gave his blessing to the deal with Pierce, a 19-year firefighter who lives in Cerritos. Hours after the council vote, Villaraigosa released a statement saying the decision “reduces the original settlement by nearly half while protecting Angelenos from further liability.”

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