Firefighter awarded $1.1 million in racial bias suit
A civil court jury Monday returned a $1.1-million verdict against the city of Los Angeles, finding in favor of a black firefighter who said he had been discriminated against during a nearly three-decade career because of his race.
The verdict comes after 16 days of deliberations — and six years after another jury ruled against Jabari S. Jumaane, who alleged a pattern of racial bias, harassment and retaliation in the Los Angeles Fire Department when he worked as a fire inspector. That decision was overturned after an appeals court granted a new trial, agreeing that there had been jury misconduct in the original case.
According to a 2012 report by the city's office of the independent assessor on Fire Department litigation, Jumaane's allegation of jury misconduct included a declaration by a juror who "claimed to have witnessed racially motivated misconduct by fellow jurors."
The retrial jury's ruling is a blow to a department that has found itself accused of systematic discrimination — particularly against black firefighters — in the past.
http://www.latimes.com/local/la-me-lafd-discrimination-lawsuit-20131126,0,2726195.story
