Pasco firefighters file civil rights lawsuit

Two Pasco firefighters have filed a civil rights lawsuit against Pasco County and the local firefighters union, alleging racial and religious discrimination.

The case was filed in Pasco Circuit Court in November but was moved this week to U.S. District Court in Tampa.

The lawsuit alleges that a Pasco Fire Rescue captain used racial slurs and anti-Semitic insults against two employees, respectively.

Anthony Booth, a firefighter/EMT, who is Hispanic and of Venezuelan-Spaniard descent, and Jerry Brown, a driver/engineer, whose wife's family is Jewish, are suing for damages in excess of $15,000 and seek injunctive relief and damages, back pay, compensatory damages, punitive damages, attorneys' fees and other litigation costs.

The suit also alleges that at least one of the men was passed up for a promotion, got transferred against their will to a different station and got marked down on evaluations due to the grievances.

Brown also alleges he was denied a requested day off to tend to family matters when his sister died.
Their attorney, Cynthia Sass, couldn't be reached for comment.

The suit alleges, in part, that Capt. Mark Bodden, Booth's supervisor at Station 14, continuously harassed him and behaved unprofessionally by yelling at Booth, getting into his face and shouting "vulgar words" and profanity sometimes in public places.

The allegations begin in 2007.

Bodden, according to the lawsuit, often referred to Booth using a derogatory term for Hispanics and Latinos. On one occasion, Booth told Bodden he was going to visit his family in Venezuela and the captain said, according to the suit, "Why would you want to go there? You are stupid to go to a country like that."

On a call in May 2007, Booth recounted in the lawsuit that they were helping a family that spoke only Spanish and someone asked if anyone spoke the language. "We are not in Mexico," a firefighter paramedic replied, the suit states. Bodden laughed at the time, and didn't discipline the paramedic even after Booth brought the remark to his attention, the suit states.

As more instances occurred, the suit states, Booth filed grievances against Bodden with the county accusing him of discrimination, causing a hostile work environment and harassment.

Brown, who was listed as a witness in Booth's grievance, alleges as retaliation, Bodden started harassing him, too, using anti-Semitic language around him. Brown later filed grievances, too.

Both men, who had been members of the local firefighters union since its inception in 2005, say they went to the International Association of Firefighters local 4420 for help, but were turned away.

Union president Ralph Grant said today he has been advised by the union attorney not to comment. The attorney couldn't be reached for comment.

Bodden, who has worked for Pasco Fire Rescue for nearly 20 years, was disciplined for incidents involving the men but not for harassment, said county personnel director Barbara DeSimone.

The discipline included a written reprimand, cultural awareness class, anger management, a leadership class and a reorientation for officers, she said. Though she wouldn't elaborate on exactly why he was disciplined, she said the county did not violate any civil rights laws.

"We did not discriminate against either one of them," she said.

The men first filed complaints with the Equal Employee Opportunity Commission but, according to DeSimone, it sided with the county. The men filed the lawsuit within the required 90 day deadline of the EEOC's findings.