WARREN (WWJ) - A federal civil rights lawsuit has been filed against Warren Mayor Jim Fouts, former Police Commissioner Jere Green and the city.
In the 22 page lawsuit, former Diversity Coordinator Greg Murray claims the city and mayor fostered a racially hostile environment, especially in the fire and police departments.
Murray alleges that he was wrongfully terminated after his efforts to address racial injustice and civil rights violations within the City of Warren were thwarted by Mayor Fouts. He's seeking back pay and other compensatory damages.
Click here to see a copy of the lawsuit (.pdf format)
Fouts, who is up for reelection this year, told WWJ Tuesday morning that the lawsuit came as a complete surprise, mostly because the media received copies of the documents before his office was notified.
"Mr. Murray hasn't worked for the City of Warren for almost two years and when he left... I told him I would accept his resignation and he said 'Thank you' and he left. So, that's all I've heard from him," Fouts said. "I'm puzzled as well as being blindsided by the fact that apparently he chose to send a copy of the lawsuit to everybody except the person he's suing or the city he's suing. ... Clearly, this is an election year gimmick and he's obviously working with the opposition."
Attorney Jon Marko says the lawsuit seeks to hold public officials accountable for a history of racially discriminatory policies and practices in city departments.
"If you look at some of the allegations, like, I can't even talk about them on the air because they're so offensive -- the racism," Marko told WWJ's Dan Jenkins.
"Desheila Howlett, for example, is an African-American police officer who was called the N-word. Mr. Suarez, who was called the 'house N-word' in the fire department. I mean, this is far reaching," Marko continued. "I didn't say those were Mayor Fouts' words, but those are words by other supervisory officials within the city of Warren and when they were reported to Fouts, my client Mr. Murray recommended immediate action...and his pleas were rejected by the mayor."
When asked if Murray ever brought these issues to his attention, Fouts said, "Nothing like this, no."
"He sent a letter and said that if we didn't agree to -- he wanted a substantial raise in pay, and I said 'I've looked it over and I've decided to accept your resignation.' And he could have said 'I don't want to resign,' and he said 'Thank you,' and he walked right out," said Fouts. "Ethan Vincent, my city attorney, was with me when we accepted the resignation. You can call Ethan Vincent up, and Ethan is African American as well."
But Marko said Murray ultimately ended up losing his job for standing up for what is right.
"There was racism and civil rights violations within the city and as a result of Mr. Murray trying to oppose those, trying to change those, trying to remedy those, he was retaliated against and ultimately pushed out of his job," Marko said.
Murray's goal with the lawsuit, Marko said, is to see significant changes in the city so it can be a more inclusive place for everyone.
