Sep. 20--An Orlando firefighter demoted last year for calling another firefighter the n-word was given his old job back this month after an arbitrator ruled against the city's original punishment, records show.
Nickolas Tuten was instead disciplined with a 24-hour suspension and will receive about $8,000 in back pay because he has worked in a lower level position, the arbitrator ruled.
Tuten, who has worked for the department since 1999, was demoted from engineer to firefighter after Internal Affairs investigators found he violated the agency's policies on civility and harassment.
Tuten admitted to uttering the racial slur at another firefighter, Roger Chin-Toyloy, in February 2018 while they and others were eating dinner at a fire station, the investigation shows. In an interview with internal investigators, Chin-Toyloy said the incident took place as the crew was serving dessert. He said the group often jokes with one another and teases Tuten during dessert time because he "gets pretty anxious ... and he's in fear of not getting any [dessert]."
It's a "running joke" to compare Tuten with a character in the movie "Office Space" who, in one scene, passes out cake to his coworkers and is left with none for himself, Chin-Toyloy told investigators. While reenacting the scene, Chin-Toyloy said he offered the last piece of dessert it to Tuten, saying, "let Nick have it."
Tuten told investigators in an interview that he responded by saying "no, let the [n-word] have it," the Internal Affairs investigation shows. He testified during his arbitration that the comment came out "as an instinct" after he believed Chin-Toyloy was remarking on his weight.
He said he apologized soon afterward and Chin-Toyloy said he wasn't offended. "I gave him a little slide, because he's going through some personal stuff. And the fact that I'm not really of that race, not that it [should] have been said, regardless," Chin-Toyloy, who is of Asian background, told internal investigators.
During the arbitration process, the union argued that Tuten had never before been investigated for using a racial slur, and under department policy should only be disciplined with a written reprimand. They also cited factors such as Tuten's good standing at the department and testimony from interim Fire Chief Richard Wales that he did not believe Tuten was racist as reasons why the punishment was inappropriate.
In his testimony, Wales also said he had "probably" used the same slur in the past but did not consider himself racist. Arbitrator Mary Greenwood wrote in her decision that she didn't agree with the union that a written reprimand would be sufficient punishment, citing past cases when employees at OFD were given 24-hour suspensions for using racially derogatory language.
"I think that sends the right message, but it is not so severe to affect his total career," Greenwood wrote. "... If Tuten had not been mocked and likened to Milton in ["Office Space"], this might never have happened."
[email protected] ___ (c)2019 The Orlando Sentinel (Orlando, Fla.)
Visit The Orlando Sentinel (Orlando, Fla.) at www.OrlandoSentinel.com
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
