LA City Chief Forced Out After Lawsuit

[Truck4 48]

http://www.nbc4.tv/news/10439605/detail.html?dl=mainclick

Los Angeles fire Chief William Bamattre announced Friday that he will step down as fire chief on Jan. 1.

Bamattre issued a statement saying he submitted his resignation to Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa. He has scheduled a news conference for Friday afternoon to discuss his departure.

His departure would make him the highest-level casualty of a racial discrimination lawsuit stemming from a prank that firefighters played on a black colleague in 2004.

Bamattre "became a liability for the department and the city," an official who asked not to be identified told the newspaper.

The chief's fate became tied in recent days with the case of Tennie Pierce, a black firefighter whose spaghetti sauce was laced with dog food at his Westchester station. Pierce, an African American who had been nicknamed "Big Dog," said he was humiliated by the incident and became the object of discrimination after complaining about it.

His lawyers and city attorneys agreed on a $2.7 million settlement, which the City Council initially approved. But after KFI-AM (640) radio show hosts John Kobylt and Ken Chiampou posted photographs online of Pierce himself engaging in apparent hazing, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa vetoed the deal, and his veto was upheld. The case may come to court in March. The controversy drew focus on a culture Bamattre had vowed to address. But audits in 1994 and again this year found that minorities and women in the agency complained they had seen or heard of racism in the department.

Councilman Jack Weiss, chairman of the council's Public Safety Committee, and Controller Laura Chick this week called for the firing of Bamattre, who was selected to be interim chief in 1995 to serve as a reformer.

City Hall officials, including Fire Commission President Dalila T. Sotelo, have contacted firefighter groups asking for names of candidates for interim chief, sources told The Times. Those submitted include Assistant Chief Doug Berry of the Fire Prevention Bureau and veteran Battalion Chief Millage Peaks, according to the newspaper.

Both Berry and Peaks, who are African American, reportedly are well respected. The department has never had a black chief.

Bamattre told The Times in recent interviews that his problem was having to change a culture that did not want to change and having too few tools to do the job.

Earlier this week, Bamattre told council members at a hearing that the maximum punishment he could impose was 30 days' suspension -- something that did not give him sufficient authority to root out persistent attitudes.

The chief won support for that position this morning from black community activist Earl Ofari Hutchinson, president of the Los Angeles Urban Policy Roundtable, who described Bamattre as a "scapegoat."

"The resignation of L.A. Fire Chief William Bamattre reflects the continued failure of the mayor, the city council, and the fire commission to change the culture of discrimination and harassment endemic in the L.A. City Fire Department," Hutchinson said in a statement. "Bamattre is a scapegoat for that failure..."

Hutchinson said that if the mayor, the City Council and the fire commission are serious about reforming the department, "they must give the new chief the tools necessary to make the changes. That includes increased disciplinary and firm management controls to root out the culture of discrimination and harassment."

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Here's his letter to his guys. Although a great, progressive department with a paramilitary style culture, they are embroiled in human-resoources related politics that plague not only the FD, but many other city departments. Unfortunetly, a lot of this was beyond the chiefs control, but he had to take responsibilty for the actions of his men and women.

This is a sad end to the Chiefs long career.

December 1, 2006

Special Notice

This morning I submitted a letter to Mayor Villaraigosa informing him

of my retirement. I will be stepping down as your Fire Chief on

January 1, 2007. As firefighters we pledged, through a formal oath,

to "faithfully serve" the City of Los Angeles in the discharge of our

duties to the best of our knowledge and ability. I am very proud of

our dedicated and courageous Los Angeles Firefighters. I am also very

proud of the extraordinary commitment and efforts of our civilian

employees. I want to express my heart felt appreciation and gratitude

to each of you for your outstanding service to the visitors and

residents of the City of Los Angeles.

Today, I ask you - as I asked you in November 1995 - for your support

for the future of our Department. Throughout its history, the members

of this Department have prevailed despite many challenges.

Reaffirming our collective unity in commitment and purpose, the LAFD

can transform adversity into opportunity.

It has been my privilege and honor to serve as your Fire Chief,

working together with each of you to address the Public Safety needs

of Los Angeles.

I pray that God will keep you and your loved ones safe.

WILLIAM R. BAMATTRE

Fire Chief

Los Angeles Fire Department