Echoes of Tennie Pierce

Remember Tennie Pierce, the firefighter who claimed racism (and sought $2.7 million) because some buddies slipped dog food into his firehouse dinner? Well, it turns out that he's not alone in issuing seemingly overblown accusations. As the Daily News' Eugene Tong reports:

In a legal victory for the beleaguered Los Angeles Fire Department, a jury declined Tuesday to award damages to an African-American firefighter who claimed he suffered harassment and retaliation after he complained about racism in the agency.

Jabari S. Jumaane, a 21-year LAFD veteran now stationed at a midcity firehouse, filed suit in 2003, seeking more than $7 million. After deliberating a day, a Los Angeles Superior Court jury decided in favor of the city....

Jumaane, now 46, had claimed suspensions in 1999 and 2001 for poor job performance and violating department vehicle regulations were actually acts of retaliation for speaking out against racist depictions of African-Americans within the department.

But Deputy City Attorney Robert S. Brown argued that Jumaane's 1999 suspension came while he was an inspector and was found doing paperwork at the office rather than supervising brush clearance, and once failed to show up for work for a week without calling.

Apparently the court agreed with the city -- Jumaane got in trouble for his job performance, not for complaining about racism.

None of which is to downplay the various real and documented cases of discrimination in the LAFD. But clearly some opportunists have come to see the department's notorious reputation as an easy path to millions. By failing to police its own employees, the LAFD thus risks not only subjecting them to harassment, but itself to extortion.