“font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px;”>After more than three years of waiting for his day in court, Deputy Fire Chief Charles Coyle said waiting five hours while the jury deliberated on May 27 was “nothing to me.”
“font-size: 10.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>It was worth the relief of vindication, he said. The jury found the City of St. Louis guilty of racial discrimination against Coyle, a firefighter with the St. Louis Fire Department since 1978 and deputy chief since 2001.
“font-size: 10.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>Eleven of the 12 jury members – a diverse group of city residents – said a city administrator discriminated against Coyle when the administrator promoted a white firefighter of lower rank to fire chief in November 2007, violating the City Charter’s hiring regulations.
“font-size: 10.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>Dennis Jenkerson, who received that promotion, was said to be the first person elevated directly from battalion chief to chief of the department.
“font-size: 10.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>The jury of the St. Louis Circuit Court awarded Coyle the full $300,000 he sought for actual damages. However, after pleas from the city’s defense attorney, Nancy Kistler, that the city was cash strapped, the panel only awarded $50,000 of the $1 million Coyle requested in punitive damages.
“font-size: 10.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>“This is larger than what some people believe,” Coyle said.
“font-size: 10.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>“You had the people at the top of the city’s organizational chart doing this. I think it sets a tone that says, ‘We can do what we want to intimidate employees.’ If this is the tone we are setting, we are in trouble. These are the people running our city.”
“font-size: 10.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>Public Safety Director Charles Bryson made the promotion decision. He reports directly to Mayor Francis G. Slay, who appointed Bryson in October 2007. Before his elevation to director, Bryson had been a longtime community liaison and functionary for Slay.
“font-size: 10.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>The fire chief position was open at the time because of Bryson’s demotion of Fire Chief Sherman George over a set of contested promotions, which prompted George’s resignation. George described his exit from the fire service as a “constructive termination.”
“font-size: 10.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>Bryson was promoted by Slay when a threat for disciplinary action hung over George’s head, issued by Sam Simon, who was then public safety director. Bryson, who is black, immediately said he would enforce Simon’s threat, and after a delay did so, a month after his promotion.
“font-size: 10.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>After Bryson demoted George, the city’s fire African-American fire chief, he replaced him with an interim chief, Steve Kotraba, who immediately began promoting firefighters – almost all of them white – from the contested list.
“font-size: 10.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>Kotraba was then replaced by Jenkerson, a battalion chief, who was promoted over Coyle, who held the more senior title of deputy chief and also served as fire marshal.
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“font-size: 10.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>Coyle’s lawyer, Jerome Dobson, argued that if the city would have followed the City Charter and promoted from the next lower rank, deputy chief, administrators would have promoted Coyle.
“font-size: 10.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>Kistler defended Bryson, saying that Jenkerson had the top test scores.
“font-size: 10.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>Dobson pointed out the racial disparities in such tests results, based on numerous studies.
“font-size: 10.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>Coyle said his experience of discrimination in the process of this promotion to fire chief was consistent with his previous experience in the department.
“font-size: 10.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>“This case says that nothing has changed, and again I point to the people involved and where they stand in organizational chart,” he said. “The people who should be working hard to make sure there is no discrimination had key roles in keeping me from becoming fire chief.”
“font-size: 10.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>Kistler said to Circuit Judge Edward Sweeney and the jury that the city understands the message sent to them by the jury. But Coyle is not convinced.
“font-size: 10.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>“I am not sure that the city truly understands,” he said. “Do we truly want to correct the discrimination in the city? I am not sure that’s what our leaders want.”
“font-size: 10.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>George applauded the jury’s decision, and said his own suit against the city failed because it never went before a jury but to the Civil Service Commission.
“font-size: 10.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>“Fortunately, Chief Coyle was judged by a jury of his peers,” George said. “Unfortunately, I was judged by Mayor Slay’s peers, all white males except for one white female.”
“font-size: 10.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>Coyle said these past few years have been hard on his family. He said he has felt intimidation at the workplace, with responsibilities removed from under his direction. As the verdict sinks in, he is not sure how his case will change the long-held racial tensions in the city’s fire department.
“font-size: 10.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>“I’m not sure where the fire department is going to go,” he said. “I am not sure if they want to make the appropriate changes in this city.”