A federal jury yesterday awarded $1 million in damages to two black deputy fire chiefs in Camden after finding that they had experienced decades of racial discrimination and retaliation.
Kevin Hailey and Terrance Crowder sued in 2001, alleging that city Fire Department officials violated their First Amendment rights by retaliating against them for public comments critical of senior city officials and department policies.
The plaintiffs also said they were subjected to a hostile work environment and racial discrimination, including racial epithets. They said that, solely based on their race, they were wrongly disciplined and denied promotions.
The eight-person jury, sitting before U.S. Magistrate Judge Joel Rosen, rendered the verdict after three days of deliberations.
"We found that there were egregious racial practices in the Fire Department," said jury foreman Robson Ehioba, who lives in Mount Laurel. "I was very, very surprised - totally flabbergasted - that these kinds of things are still happening in the United States, and that the environment was allowed to exist over 22 years."
The type of racial discrimination that occurred, Ehioba said, "was the kind of thing that I thought happened way back in the '50s and '60s."
Hailey, 44, and Crowder, 42, were battalion chiefs when they sued. In 2003, they were moved up to deputy chiefs, among the highest-ranking posts in the department.
The jury awarded Hailey $170,000 in compensatory damages and $300,000 in punitive damages. Crowder was awarded $216,000 in compensatory damages and $350,000 in punitive damages.
Lewis Wilson, the Camden city attorney, said, "We respectfully disagree with the jury's verdict and fully expect to appeal the decision."
At first glance, he said, the verdict "doesn't make sense," adding that the jury "was either confused, or their emotions contributed to the verdict." He declined to elaborate.
Mark Frost, the Philadelphia-based attorney for Crowder and Hailey, said his clients "are ecstatic." When the verdict was read, he said, there were "literally tears of joy."
Frost said the two had felt discrimination from the day they entered the department.
"When Hailey and Crowder first arrived in the 1980s, the Camden Fire Department had separate sleeping quarters for blacks and whites," Frost said. "Even during this trial this year, Hailey and Crowder were not allowed to use sick time during the trial... . White officers had been allowed to."
At trial, the city denied it violated any constitutional rights and said that it always acted in good faith and that it should not be held responsible for the actions, if any, of others.
