We’d like to take credit, but: After talk-radio-flamed outrage over the City Council’s approval of a $2.7 million settlement for “racial harassment” for a 6’5″ African firefighter nicknamed “Big Dog” who was pranked with a meal of dog-food-spaghetti-sauce, the mayor vetoed the settlement. The “John and Ken Show” website posted photos of the plaintiff, Tennie Pierce, engaging in other pranks. Five council members backtracked after voters started sending cans of dog food to the politicians as a protest, which makes it unlikely the veto will be overridden, even though the settlement was approved 11-1. Hurt politically: the office of city attorney Rocky Delgadillo, whose office continues to defend the settlement. (Sandy Banks and Steve Hymon, “Fury on the airwaves undid bias settlement”, LA Times, Nov. 22)
Dog food suit update
We’d like to take credit, but: After talk-radio-flamed outrage over the City Council’s approval of a $2.7 million settlement for “racial harassment” for a 6’5″ African firefighter nicknamed “Big Dog” who was pranked with a meal of dog-food-spaghetti-sauce, the mayor vetoed the settlement. The “John and Ken Show” website posted photos of the plaintiff, Tennie […]
5 Comments
Wow. That’s one well-disciplined fire department. The real question appears to be not one of dog food pranks, but how these fire fighters find time to perform their job duties.
Ha! I love the plaintiff’s lawyer lashing out at the public outcry – that’s the anger at over $900,000 in easy money going up in smoke.
Seth, not to defend any of the pranks, but I think a big part of a firefighter’s job consists of sitting around at the station house and waiting for an emergency call.
Seth,
Yes, firefightres actually have hug amounts of free time… SOME times.
That is, having known a few firefighters, they may go a week with nothing to do, then have sevral shifts in a row where they don’t even sleep becaus they’re so busy (most firefightrs I’ve known have 24 hour shifts, meaning that they spend a day living at the fire house, including sleeping).
Such pranks and other time-filling activities (that can be dropped at a moment’s notice) are commonplace, from what little I’ve seen.
The plaintiff’s attorney, Genie Harrison, was truly after a quick $900k no doubt at all. Do you think her reputation will be “The Dog Food Attorney?” I just saw a news conference on the ABC news in Los Angeles and Ms. Harrison was not by her client’s side as he made a public statement (in tears no less). I wonder if she is feeling humiliated over her career-limiting blunder.