Portland Sued By Black Firefighter For Third Time In 18 Months

[ad_1] by Jeroslyn JoVonn December 5, 2025

The Metropolis of Portland has settled a racial discrimination lawsuit with a Black firefighter, marking the third such case in 18 months.

A 3rd Black firefighter prior to now 18 months has filed a racial discrimination lawsuit in opposition to the Metropolis of Portland.

On Dec. 3, the Portland Metropolis Council accepted a $60,000 settlement for David Barron, a 25-year veteran of Portland Fireplace & Rescue, KOIN reviews. Barron, who had initially sought $3.25 million, claimed he confronted years of race-based discrimination and retaliation, together with denied promotions, racist harassment, and punishment for reporting discriminatory conduct.

In his lawsuit, Barron—who started with Portland Fireplace & Rescue in 1999 as an entry-level firefighter and now serves as a district-level fireplace inspector within the Fireplace Marshal’s Workplace for District 14—alleges that bureau management ignored complaints and gave white firefighters a bonus in promotions. After Barron filed the lawsuit in June 2024, a Metropolis of Portland legal professional launched an investigation and located that he had made no prior HR complaints, union grievances, or skilled requirements complaints.

Knowledgeable requirements assessment was initiated following the lawsuit to look at his allegations, however the metropolis’s legal professional acknowledged that Barron declined to be interviewed or take part. Town maintained that its actions had been lawful and that a lot of Barron’s claims had been unsupported, time-barred, or primarily based on rumour. In the end, Barron selected the $60,000 settlement to resolve the lawsuit reasonably than face the expense and uncertainty of a trial.

Barron’s lawsuit is considered one of three latest discrimination circumstances involving Portland Fireplace & Rescue. In June, Black firefighter Eric Heard filed a go well with alleging years of racial discrimination, retaliation, biased testing, and blocked promotions, searching for $3.25 million in damages. Earlier this 12 months, a Multnomah County jury dominated that longtime firefighter Jason Wilson confronted racial discrimination and retaliation, awarding him $275,000 in damages.

At a Metropolis Corridor assembly, the Fireplace Chief of PF&R acknowledged there's “room for enchancment” in worker coaching , citing the continued sample of race-based discrimination lawsuits.

“I feel there’s at all times room for enchancment,” Fireplace Chief Lauren Johnson stated. “I wish to reassure you that this begins on the prime. Anti-racism and fairness are values of the town of Portland, they’re values for the hearth bureau, and so they’re private values for me. So we lead in opposition to these points from the highest.”