Two city paramedics, fired after refusing to respond to an early morning 911 call, said Thursday they were singled out because they are black.
Fred Carrington, a Clearwater attorney representing the paramedics, said he had records showing that others who did not respond to a call received lesser punishments or none at all. He did not provide examples Thursday, saying he wanted to coordinate with union officials before publicizing such data.
"The firing is overkill," Carrington said during a news conference to announce that the paramedics had filed a discrimination complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. "They did nothing wrong."
Michael Jones, a five-year employee, and Trevor Murray, a nine-year employee, were fired in May for not responding to a March 26 call from a woman who often dialed 911, only to have paramedics come to her door to discover there was no emergency, city officials have said. Both had clean performance records.
City Manager Bill Horne, who is African-American, said race played no role in their firings. He said he did not know of any examples of white firefighters receiving lesser punishments for not responding to an emergency.
"I defy anybody to prove to me that we are anything but careful and sensitive and that we are diligent in our disciplinary actions," he said. "Murray and Jones were terminated for, in our opinion, justifiable reasons."
Fire Chief Jamie Geer could not be reached for comment.
The unanswered call was uncovered during a routine quality-assurance review of past incidents, which found the call's report did not specify the paramedics' arrival time. That discovery prompted an internal investigation.
On Thursday, Murray said he did respond to the call, by getting into his rescue vehicle and asking the dispatcher to have police officers check the situation first. He wanted police to verify there was a valid emergency because the woman had been confrontational and "verbally abusive" in past interactions, Murray said.
Carrington said the woman lives about 10 blocks from Station 49 behind Clearwater Mall, so Murray and Jones could have been there quickly. "It was not an abandonment of the 911 call," he said.
Nathaniel Ramsey, president of the North Pinellas NAACP branch, said the organization was investigating the discrimination complaint but had yet to make any definite findings. "We're in the early stages," he said.
Murray and Jones also have filed a grievance with the city, which was dismissed.
Their appeal will be handled by an arbitrator.
They have the local fire union's support.
"We're going to stand behind them 100 percent," said John Lee, local union president.
