Fired Colorado fire chief taking legal action against city over dismissal tied to handling of racist incident
Earlier this week, city officials in Golden, Colorado, fired the city manager and fire chief as investigations continue into a reported racist incident at a local fire station. Now, former Fire Chief Kasey Beal is pushing back against the city's decision.
The trouble started in March, when someone took a "Snoop on a Stoop" doll that had been moved around the fire station over the holidays and hung it by its neck from a rope in the station stairwell. City officials said they initiated an internal investigation, and disciplinary action was taken against the person said to be responsible. An outside consultant was also brought in to conduct training for fire department staff on culture, equity, and inclusion.
Golden officials said that in July, other city departments learned of the incident and there was a public outcry over how it was handled.
A statement from the city said, in part:
"Last week, employees in other City departments became aware of the incident and shared their deep disappointment in the response from City leadership. Their feedback made clear that our response did not adequately reflect the seriousness of this incident or the impact it had on our employees and community. We are grateful to the employees who spoke up. Their voices prompted us to reflect on our response and acknowledge that we fell far short in our responsibility to City staff and our community.
As a result of those conversations and further review, the employee responsible for the act is no longer employed by the City of Golden Fire Department. In addition, an independent, third-party investigation will be undertaken to understand the broader context in which this situation was able to occur, the response that followed, what further consequences or actions need to be taken, and how to avoid this in future."
On Wednesday, Golden announced the termination of former City Manager Scott Vargo, stating that the city's response "did not meet the expectations for action and accountability, and that trust has been lost among employees, residents and city leadership."
The following day, the city fired Beal and appointed Deputy Fire Chief Sean Jones to serve as interim fire chief.
City officials said that Beal was placed on administrative leave back on Aug. 3 as the "city continued to evaluate leadership and personnel matters following the racist incident within the Golden Fire Department and concerns regarding the City's response." Volunteer and career members of the fire department's staff submitted letters of support for Beal in response.
Officials decided to terminate his employment following the evaluation.
In a press release on Sunday, Beal said the city hasn't disclosed all of the information about the incident and blamed other city officials for a breakdown in communication.
Beal says when the doll was discovered, it was immediately taken down and reported:
"I turned this matter over to Human Resources within hours of being notified; HR then conducted an internal investigation in conjunction with the city's legal department, without my involvement or oversight. No investigative report was ever shared with me, nor was I interviewed at any point. I was placed in a position to determine a level of discipline based solely on an oral summation of the investigation findings given by Kristen Meier, the City's HR Director. The individual responsible for the racist act was subsequently demoted and suspended for 48 hours without pay. Two separate DEI consultants were also solicited by me to provide intensive DEI training for the entire fire department, originally set to commence in late August.
The decision to exclude the REDI Taskforce lead, Sarah Vaine, from the meeting where the level of discipline was decided upon (demotion and suspension), rested solely with the former City Manager. This exclusion created palpable tension between her and the former City Manager and excluded a valuable perspective from the decision-making process. The city is now proceeding with an independent secondary investigation, which is tantamount to an admission that their initial investigation was both inadequate and incomplete."
Beal maintains that the department has worked to remain transparent through the investigation.
He is now pursuing legal action against the city for his termination.
