A.C. fire captain files bias suit

ATLANTIC CITY — A white fire captain has sued the city for reverse discrimination, saying supervisors retaliated against him for filing a complaint against a black firefighter and have created a hostile working environment.

Capt. Kenneth Haney said in his suit that he witnessed a firefighter be insubordinate and make terroristic threats in January 2004, and he reported the action to a supervisor. The other captain refused to discipline the firefighter, and Haney met with more supervisors, and the charges were made, but former Mayor Lorenzo Langford dismissed them.

The suit claims that Haney was transferred to a different fire house, with mostly black firefighters, in April 2004. He said he was intimidated and could not give orders to the people under him because it was always construed as racial bias. Requests for a transfer were repeatedly denied.

At one point, a black firefighter made statements to Haney such as, “Just because you're white, don't make it right,” and “You don't like it now because us ---- are in charge,” the suit claims.

Haney said in the suit that he suffered anxiety and depression as a result of the experience, and his doctor signed him out on disability. The city solicitor's office was ordered to deny his Workers Compensation claim, the lawsuit says.

When reached at her office Wednesday afternoon, city solicitor Kim Baldwin called the suit “utterly meritless.”

“The complaint is just allegations. Now they've got to prove them,” Baldwin said. That will be impossible because there is no documentation to back up many of Haney's claims.

The city plans to countersue Haney for filing a frivolous lawsuit, Baldwin said.

To e-mail Elaine Rose at The Press:

ERose@pressofac.com