Posted on 11/01/2001 4:49:38 AM PST by wysiwyg
For education and discussion only. Not for commercial use.Oct. 31, 2001, 3:54PM
Judge refuses to toss suit by ambulance driver fired after doughnut stop
By ROSANNA RUIZ
Copyright 2001 Houston Chronicle
A federal judge has denied the city of Houston's request to throw out a lawsuit filed by a former ambulance driver fired after he stopped for doughnuts while transporting a patient to a hospital.
U.S. District Judge Lee Rosenthal granted Larry Wesley 30 days to amend his employment discrimination suit, which he filed in May.
Wesley must amend his suit to redefine his discrimination case and name the city as the defendant, instead of the fire department, because the department can not be sued as an independent entity, court documents say.
The ruling, however, was not entirely in Wesley's favor. Rosenthal dismissed Wesley's claim of intentional infliction of emotional distress because state law protects municipalities from such claims.
Ray Shackelford, Wesley's attorney, said the fire department treated his client unfairly because of his race.
"The manner in which he was handled is different from the way non-black drivers and firefighters are handled," Shackelford said.
In his suit, Wesley claims that other EMS drivers caught making unscheduled stops either were not fired or were later reinstated.
Carole Snyder, an assistant city attorney who will represent the city in the case, declined to comment about Wesley's suit or Rosenthal's ruling.
Wesley, who was assigned to Fire Station 35 off Martin Luther King Boulevard, was taking an injured youth to Ben Taub Hospital on July 10, 2000, when he stopped for doughnuts.
The boy's mother filed a complaint that led then-Fire Chief Lester Tyra to fire Wesley, a 20-year department veteran. The Firefighters' and Police Officers' Civil Service Commission upheld Wesley's firing, and Wesley did not appeal the decision.
Two other Houston firefighters were fired on similar grounds in February, when they delivered groceries at a northeast fire station with a patient aboard their ambulance.
The firefighters, Leonard Robinson and John Englehardt, have since been reinstated, said District Chief Jack Williams.
Yeah, well, did those people have patients in their ambulance?
Must have missed this part, huh?
".....The manner in which he was handled is different from the
way non-black drivers and firefighters are handled," Shackelford said.
In his suit, Wesley claims that other EMS drivers caught making
unscheduled stops either were not fired or were later reinstated....."
It looks like they have some problems in that entire area. But this guy's
entitled to due process and that's the decision [so far].
THE HOUSE SHOULD HOLD AN IMPEACHMENT TRIAL!!!!!
How long would it take a judge to review how many other COMPLAINTS about doughnut stops were filed? The other stops were likely bathroom related.
Did you see this part of the article?
The boy's mother filed a complaint that led then-Fire Chief Lester Tyra to fire Wesley, a 20-year department veteran. The Firefighters' and Police Officers' Civil Service Commission upheld Wesley's firing, and Wesley did not appeal the decision.
He haddue process and didn't appeal. Now he sues?
They eat in the bathroom?
Two other Houston firefighters were fired on similar grounds
in February, when they delivered groceries at a northeast fire
station with a patient aboard their ambulance.
Whatever their reason for stopping with a patient on their way
to a hospital...... it's wrong and they should be penalized,
reprimanded, or fired. But whatever the penalty, it must be
uniform. If this black guy's been fired, while white guys
continue working or get reinstated, he's got a case.
He's trying to make his case [he's entitled to do that], and
we'll know the outcome when it happens. wazzabigdeal?
"...A federal judge has denied the city of Houston's request to
throw out a lawsuit...."
"...then we need an impeachment inquiry of this FEDERAL judge....."
by Arthur Wildfire! March
Whooa Arthur... Are you saying we dispense with the right
to legal due process with discrimination?
Doesn't that strip the 14th amendment right from our Bill of Rights?
"..The Firefighters' and Police Officers' Civil
Service Commission upheld Wesley's firing,...."
He wasn't in a court yet. The Commission upheld
his removal. Now, he wants to appeal it legally.
I always said that black guys shouldn't eat powdered donuts
while on the job.
these are the same people that the demoRATS want to put in charge of airport security
so, the terrorist blows up your mom's plane; while the "government security guard" is out gettin' a donut
LOL. This is a nuisance suit. The guy is just a cats paw, a pawn used to harass anyone who would dare to fire a favored citizen. Most black people would be just as outraged as anyone else over this absurd nuisance suit.
So let's have some fun with this judge. The GOP could sit up there in their hearing booths, filled with indignation, and rip into this ultra-liberal judge. It would be a lot of fun. Entertainment. And the DNC would look ridiculous trying to defend his right to buy and eat doughnuts. I bet he had a cup of coffee to go with it, tearing down the road, juggling coffee with his doughnuts. And I'd like to see him waddle up to the hearing room too.
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