AURORA | The city of Aurora will pay $480,000 to four minority firefighters who say they were discriminated against while serving in the overwhelming white department.
In addition to the hefty financial payout, the city has also agreed to implement diversity training, develop a mentorship program and work closely with a black firefighters association.
David Lane, the lawyer who represented the four firefighters — one of which is still with the department — said the payout shows the city knew a jury would side with the firefighters.
“What it says is that Aurora basically recognized that they were going to lose this case, so they needed to settle it,” he said.
The city denies any wrongdoing in the settlement and in a statement, City Attorney Mike Hyman said a trial would have been costly.
“The city recently agreed to settle a pending lawsuit brought by one current and three former employees of Aurora Fire Rescue. The city agreed to settle this matter to resolve all claims brought by the employees based on the inherent expenses and time involved in litigating a federal lawsuit,” he said.
The city attorney’s office declined to comment further.
According to the lawsuit, Calvin Brown, a black firefighter who transferred to Aurora from a department in Kansas, and Jesus Garcia, a Latino firefighter who transferred from a Florida department, were discriminated against during their training with Aurora fire.
The pair said they were also retaliated against when they cooperated with an investigation into accusations that a training supervisor discriminated against another black firefighter.
Lane said he hopes the city’s settlement means they will not only treat current minority firefighters more fairly, but that they it will motivate the city to recruit more minority firefighters.
Last year, Aurora fire rescue was about 80 percent white men, according to department statistics.