DENVER — Two Black women have filed a civil lawsuit against the City and County of Denver alleging that they were discriminated against based on both their race and gender.
“Since its inception, the Denver Fire Department (DFD) has engaged in the widespread practice of discriminating against African-American and female firefighters,” the lawsuit, which is dated Sept. 30, reads. “This practice is not a relic of the past, but rather remains rooted in the fabric of the department.”
A spokesperson for the Denver City Attorney’s Office declined to comment on the suit, saying that it had not yet been served.
The two plaintiffs are Da Lesha Allen and Charmaine Cassie. Both women alleged that they were “hyper-scrutinized” for their performance during both firefighting academy, while they were on the job and that the white male colleagues were not subject to the same criticism.
According to the lawsuit, Allen said she was targeted because of her race before she was hired by DFD.
“For example, before Ms. Allen began the Academy, the Denver civil service detective assigned to do her background check told her that DFD was concerned about someone of her background joining the Academy because of the ‘myth’ that she was not ‘moldable,’” the lawsuit reads. “She asked him if he meant her having a ‘black attitude,’ and he responded, ‘you know what they say.’ Ms. Allen understood the officer to be referring to the myth of the ‘angry black woman.’ He never denied that he was referencing this myth, and in response to her inquires, merely just kept repeating, ‘well, you know.’”
The lawsuit alleges that during her training, Allen was subject to more scrutiny than her colleagues and at one point was accused of getting her doctor to lie for her about injuring her foot.
In another case, Allen claims she was told by a leader at the department “you people like to put all them things in your hair” and that she would need to figure out how to put her hair in a helmet.
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“His comments were a reference to stereotypes about how African-American women styled their hair,” the lawsuit says.
Allen also claims that leaders at the department told her she should “just focus on being a mom” and that she only “wanted to be a firefighter to collect a check for her kids.”
After graduating from academy, Allen alleged that supervisors “warned” other departments about her, and at one point she was told by a supervisor that “training staff said she was ‘weak,’ he ‘didn’t like her attitude’ and he ‘believed in tradition,’” the lawsuit says.
Allen’s attorneys sent a letter to DFD regarding the alleged discrimination on Sept. 18. The DFD investigated the situation, the lawsuit says, and determined her allegations were unfounded.
The lawsuit says Allen was placed on administrative leave on Oct. 22, 2019 and was fired on Oct. 24.
“Denver fired Ms. Allen because of her race and sex and in retaliation for her complaints of discrimination and retention of legal representation,” the lawsuit says.
The other plaintiff, Cassie, also alleged she was highly scrutinized during academy when she joined the department in 2018. Cassie alleges she was forced to repeat academy after sustaining an injury, even though some of her white male colleagues did not have to.
The lawsuit says that during a meeting about this decision, an assistant chief told her, “you know it’s not that people mean to, but when you have one thing that’s not like the other, it’s just certainly going to be singled out. You know, looked at differently. Plus you’re female, so you will get singled out.”
The lawsuit alleges that a chief told Cassie “it’s human nature for people to be like that. I don’t think we mean anything by it, but it happens. People are always going to single others out, especially when they are different.”
When she graduated academy, the lawsuit alleges Cassie was subject to racism in the department. At one point, the lawsuit alleges that because of DFD culture she “should keep her head down and act like a slave.”
The lawsuit also alleges that a lieutenant repeatedly referred to her physical appearance.
“In June 2019, while Ms. Cassie was helping Lieutenant Burke carry a weight rack, Ms. Cassie carried it behind her and briefly used her butt as a shelf on which to rest the rack,” the lawsuit reads. “Lieutenant Burke then said ‘that thing’s gotta be good for something.’"
“This was not the first time Lieutenant Burke commented on Ms. Cassie having a ‘big butt.’ The sexist and racist connotations of the remark were extremely painful to Ms. Cassie.”
The lawsuit says Cassie made a discrimination complaint in September 2019 but never heard if DFD found her claims substantiated.
According to the lawsuit, only 5% of DFD employees were African American from 2016 to 2019, and only 4.6% to 5.4% were women. Black women, meanwhile, accounted for between 0.2% and 0.3% of all DFD firefighters.
Citing systemic sexism and racism in the department, both plaintiffs asked for damages related to attorney’s fees as well as “future pecuniary and non-pecuniary losses, emotional pain, suffering, inconvenience, mental anguish, loss of enjoyment of life and other non-pecuniary losses.”
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