TOLEDO, Ohio — An appeals court in Cincinnati upheld a decision Tuesday by a federal judge to dismiss a discrimination case against the city of Toledo filed by a former fire recruit.
The U.S. 6th District Court of Appeals agreed that the city did not discriminate against Major Smith III. Smith, a Black man, filed a suit in December 2018 saying he was terminated as a result of racial discrimination.
In April 2020, a U.S. District Court judge ruled there was no discrimination.
Court documents from the same lawsuit also implied Toledo Mayor Wade Kapszukiewicz only promoted Brian Byrd to fire chief because he felt he would keep quiet about alleged racial discrimination within the department. Fire department records show Smith was fired for failing the state-mandated practical testing, but Smith and his lawyer claimed that didn't disqualify him, and that his firing was racially motivated.
The lawsuit claimed Byrd demoted himself in 2016 to get out of a "racially charged hostile work environment." Another claim made by former Toledo firefighter Tim Ross says he discussed racism within the department with Byrd on several instances, including, most recently, when Byrd was promoted to fire chief by Kapszukiewicz.
Ross says he felt Byrd's promotion wouldn't automatically solve the racism within the department, but he was disappointed by what he felt was Byrd's inaction and "covering it up."
The lawsuit stated the mayor hired Byrd as chief "only after learning he was the only African-American candidate who had demonstrated he would not stand up against race discrimination."
Chief Byrd released this statement Tuesday:
“As a department, we were confident in decisions that were made based on our policies and procedures. Today's appeals court decision validates the decisions that we made.”
The full court document can be read below: