Atlantic City May Reinstate Fireman In Racism Case

From the Atlantic City Press published: Wednesday, February 13, 2008

By MICHAEL CLARK Staff Writer, 609-272-7204

ATLANTIC CITY - A former fire captain dismissed for allegedly making racial threats to an underling is expected to be reinstated and awarded back pay tonight, while his accuser is in the process of being fired for an unrelated matter.



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Michelle Douglass, an attorney representing Edmund Mawhinney, said she expects her client to regain his position with the Fire Department and receive the money he has been seeking after City Council members discuss the issue in closed session at tonight's meeting.

"The city has agreed to reinstate Ed and remove the inflammatory charges," she said in a phone interview Tuesday. Douglass described the City Council's decision as a formality.

Mawhinney's dismissal stems from an alleged incident at Fire Station No. 1 in March 2005, when Mawhinney, who is white, was accused of putting a pillowcase over his head to imitate a Ku Klux Klansman and told firefighter Ricky Williams, who is black and Asian, "You better run. I'm going to burn your house down."

The allegations were detailed in a lawsuit filed by Williams against Mawhinney and the city. Mawhinney denied the accusations and counter sued.

Meanwhile, Fire Chief Dennis Brooks confirmed Tuesday that a hearing is pending for Williams' termination from the department for refusing to cut his hair to an appropriate length, despite city policy. Brooks said he did not know when the hearing would be held. Williams could not be reached for comment.

Williams' claims led to Mawhinney's termination in 2006, but Mawhinney appealed to the state Department of Personnel's Merit System Board, which later brokered a deal with the city allowing the fire captain to retire with a full pension.

However, when City Council was asked in December to approve paying Mawhinney $172,565.50 in back pay, members unanimously voted against it, responding to the overwhelming opposition of various local black advocacy groups.

Despite the vote, council's approval may be required because it had already given the city Solicitor's Office the authority to negotiate a settlement.

Most council members would not comment publicly on tonight's plans to discuss and possibly vote on the matter. Others did not return calls seeking comment.

"We just have to go over all of the facts," Councilman Bruce Ward, a lawyer, said Tuesday. "There are some circumstances here that need to be addressed. It needs further review."

A man who answered the phone at Mawhinney's Egg Harbor City home on Tuesday said he was out of town.

Word that the Mawhinney matter would be back before City Council ignited more frustration from the city's black community.

"Something occurred in the administration at the time that warranted (Mawhinney) to be terminated," said Steve Young, a local black advocate. "Here we are two years later and something is warranting him compensation?"

The Vulcans, a group of black city firefighters, released a statement Tuesday night objecting to City Council accepting any agreement in the matter, contending that it would send a message that "this type of behavior is acceptable."

Much of the backlash from the black community has been directed at Mayor Scott Evans, who went on leave from his battalion chief position in the department when he was appointed mayor in November. Young and others have accused him of racism and favoritism.

Evans has repeatedly dismissed the remarks as "ludicrous" and pointed to the racial makeup of his administration as proof that he's not a racist.

"Look at my staff, look at my directors," he said. "Look at the minority representation there." The mayor said Tuesday he was unaware of any agreement with the city regarding Mawhinney but insisted the situation was handled incorrectly from the start when the fire captain was initially fired.

"He should have had due process," Evans said. "The whole case was handled inappropriately."

Evans said the case is a prime example of why the city faces so many lawsuits. That is why his administration recently arranged training sessions for his directors, led by a professor from the Richard Stockton College of New Jersey, he said.

"We're gearing this training toward these issues of administrators making the appropriate decisions," Evans said of the monthly courses. "Hopefully we can avoid these lawsuits and save a lot of taxpayer money in the process."