MO City to Investigate Systemic Racism Claims in Fire Department

City leaders pledged Monday to swiftly investigate and root out systemic racism in the Kansas City Fire Department, saying newly published revelations about the department's culture were unacceptable.

City Council members and community leaders said they were disappointed, shocked and disgusted by the treatment of Black and women firefighters described in a three-part series The Star published online Sunday. The series details systemic racism, sexism and harassment that the city has tolerated for decades.

Already, Mayor Quinton Lucas has asked fire officials to testify before the City Council on Thursday. The new city manager, on his first day, detailed steps his office will take over the coming weeks to address The Star's findings. And a community leader called on the city to have public hearings about the KCFD.

Mayor Quinton Lucas said he was "gravely concerned" by the findings. Lucas, who was on the City Council for four years before becoming mayor in 2019, also apologized on behalf of the city.

"I haven't been mayor that long, but on behalf of my predecessors, the city and myself, I think there are a lot of things that need to be fixed that weren't," Lucas said. "We will be dedicated to making sure they are addressed."

He added: "We have a lot of work to do."

The Star's investigation detailed how Black firefighters have been harassed and put in danger, kept from sought-after stations through unwritten rules of segregation and passed over for promotions. The department, which serves a city that's close to 30% Black, has been dominated by white men for generations.

Lucas said in an interview that his office had already spoken with Chief Donna Lake, who last year became the first woman to lead KCFD.

The consensus from city leaders was clear: something has to be done.

"Racism, sexual harassment, any discrimination is unacceptable within any department at any level in the city of Kansas City," said Councilwoman Ryana Parks-Shaw, 5th District, "and I look at it as it's my duty as an elected official to work to dismantle the systemic racism and sexism at any level that we have in the city."

City Manager Brian Platt sent a memo to council members Monday outlining steps the city should take, including developing a "zero-tolerance policy" for discrimination and pushing for its inclusion in contracts with employee unions, expanding recruitment and retention efforts in KCFD, allowing for more anonymity and accountability in disciplinary procedures and hiring an "equity and diversity officer" who would report to Platt.

"With your support and collaboration I hope we can take aggressive and swift steps to continue the efforts to end discrimination and harassment and to create a positive, inclusive and supportive culture and work environment for all employees," Platt said, adding that his office would develop a report and review of possible steps within a month.

Platt said the firefighters' actions outlined in The Star's report were "unacceptable" and wouldn't be tolerated.

City officials were joined in their outrage by community leaders.

"Racism is alive and thriving inside Kansas City's public institutions and it is appalling," said Gwen Grant, president and CEO of the Urban League of Greater Kansas City. "The two institutions that are supposed to protect and serve our community — KCFD and KCPD — are inflicting racial violence on Black Kansas Citians with impunity."

The Rev. Vernon Howard, president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference of Greater Kansas City, suggested the city hold a series of public forums where residents can share their experiences with the department.

"The kind of racism and bias and disregard for the humanity of Black people within this department is a reflection of the broader problem with many institutions and agencies that are both public and private in the Kansas City metro," Howard said.

In a written statement, Lake said the issues facing KCFD are "a microcosm" of the larger community and society, and just as the rest of the world struggles to improve equity and inclusion, "KCFD must rise to do the same." She said issues that have resulted in racism and discrimination "cannot go unaddressed."

"Every person who steps forward to serve this City as a member of KCFD has every right to a workplace free from any sort of discrimination or harassment," Lake said. "Our elected officials, city leadership, the media and the public should question our past practices and have every right to expect change."

Council members also recommended their own steps to city staffers Monday to investigate and root out discrimination within KCFD.

Councilwoman Melissa Robinson, 3rd District, wants an action plan from Lake within a month. She asked that the council do a deep dive into claims of discrimination in the department.

Lucas said he supported those proposals and would like to see the department review its training policies and add an administrative staffer regularly evaluating the department's equity. He said it was important that city efforts to root out discrimination be regular and sustained, not a short-term reaction.

Lake said eradicating discrimination and racism in the department will require the work of union leaders, KCFD management and elected officials.

"It will also take each and every employee to speak up and not be complacent when they see disparate treatment occurring," Lake said. "I am fully expecting that all members of KCFD will join me wholeheartedly in pursuing an equitable and inclusive future for all of us."

Council members want change

City Council members were uniformly disturbed by The Star's findings, including that last year a white fire cadet joked that his favorite knot was a noose and placed a rope around the neck of his Black classmate. After a union grievance, he was allowed to resign rather than being fired.

"The idea that somebody would put a noose around another guy's neck — says it's my favorite knot — I don't care if you're Black or not, that's disgusting," said Councilman Dan Fowler, 2nd District. "And as far as what needs to happen (going) forward, certainly ... we've got to take the bull by the horns and do something."

Fowler called Lake "reform-minded" and "progressive" and said he imagined she would take swift action.

Councilwoman Andrea Bough, 6th District at-large, said she had heard concerns about the department but wasn't aware of the pervasiveness of its cultural problems. She said she would act this week to begin addressing the issue with the department.

"You can't just send people to, you know, to training to make them, you know, anti-racist," she said. "That's not the solution. This is a problem that's thoroughly been in place for a long time that we need to really evaluate."

Councilman Kevin O'Neill, 1st District at-large, said The Star's findings were new to him and disappointing, but he wasn't surprised. He said he was disappointed the department's leadership hadn't done more to address the problem.

"I hope that my colleagues, and I'm sure they will, will react and...do something about this," he said.

Robinson said the council would be working with "greater vigilance" to provide oversight to the department.

"We need to figure out a way in which we hear from the very ground what's happening so that we can lift those stories up and make sure ... that our policy actions match the changes that need to be made to dismantle the structure and the system," Robinson said.

The union representing firefighters, drivers and captains — International Association of Fire Fighters Local 42 — sent notice to its members Sunday that The Star had published an investigation.

"Though (the) Star report has sensationalized many aspects of the issues, it doesn't change the fact that we have a lot of work to do to make positive changes," the local president, Tim Dupin, wrote in an email to members obtained by The Star.

Dupin outlined recruiting efforts the department has undertaken in the 3rd and 5th council districts, which have large minority populations. He noted the city is planning to seek bids from companies to run its hiring and promotional exams. One firm has held that contract for nearly two decades. And he said new captains and supervisors are getting further training intended to help root out discrimination upon promotion.

The whole department got discrimination training three years ago, he said, but the COVID-19 pandemic and limited funding have delayed another round of that.

"Though I believe discussion and debate are helpful to resolve these issues, I ask that you be mindful that social media may not be the best venue," Dupin wrote. "I ask you as members of Local 42 to respect each other and stand with your sisters and brothers in unity to resolve these issues."

The department has made some changes in recent years. Firefighters can now report discrimination directly to City Hall rather than up the chain, where Black firefighters have said their complaints died. A new diversity, recruitment and retention committee is working to bring in more firefighters of color and mentor them.

Now, when firefighters take exams in the hopes of becoming captains, they are judged by firefighters in other cities. But through 2012, they were judged by their peers. Black firefighters testified that arrangement favored their white colleagues. In 2017, one Black firefighter won more than $350,000 after a jury found the captain's exam discriminatory.

Dupin told The Star Monday he has heard little from City Council members or officials. He said he was not sure how large a role discrimination and diversity would play in contract negotiations and declined to outline the union's priorities in detail, saying the union always seeks to "improve working conditions, wages and benefits" for members.

Department leaders past and present say that provisions in Local 42's labor contract limit management's ability to increase diversity in the upper ranks. The contract also include rules that, when manipulated, allow white firefighters to block their Black colleagues from working at certain fire stations.

Local 42, Dupin said, has been doing a great job pushing changes within KCFD.

"I look forward to trying to improve things on the department as we go forward," Dupin said.

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