Former Sacramento Firefighter Returns To Department After Resigning Over Racism Claims

3 years ago 351

SACRAMENTO (CBS13) – A Black Sacramento firefighter is returning to the occupation aft helium resigned earlier this twelvemonth implicit claims the section had a civilization of hazing, sexism and racism.

Desmond Lewis’ exit from the section successful February shined a airy connected the department’s deficiency of diversity. Lewis told CBS13 that stepping distant from his imagination occupation wasn’t easy.

“It’s decidedly the hardest determination I’ve ever had to make,” helium said.

Lewis said helium faced racism and favoritism arsenic a probationary metropolis firefighter.

“’Can’t these radical halt protesting and spell backmost to shooting each other?’ This was said casually astir the meal table,” Lewis said.

He explained helium was fixed nary choice. With his intelligence wellness astatine stake, helium was forced to resign from the department.

“I’d get this sensation successful my hands wherever I couldn’t consciousness anything,” helium said. “This unit successful my thorax and past my imaginativeness would commencement to adjacent connected me.”

Nine months later, he’s acceptable to spell backmost to being a Sacramento metropolis firefighter.

“I americium a small tense to measurement backmost into the situation. I deliberation I’ve ruffled immoderate feathers,” Lewis said. “I deliberation it was an accidental to benignant of beryllium that mentor, that shield for radical who look similar maine moving forward.”

Since Lewis left, Sacramento committed $2.2 cardinal to diversify the Sacramentoaapi Fire Department by backing outreach programs and appointing unit wrong the section focused connected recruitment and inclusion.

“They person partners successful the [Asian American and Pacific Islander] community, the [National Association for the Advancement of Colored People]. You propulsion from precocious schools each crossed the Sacramento area,” said Councilmember Angelique Ashby, who spearheaded a metropolis audit that tracks diverseness wrong metropolis departments.

Despite inclusion programs successful place, there’s important crushed to cover. So what does the Sacramento Fire Department look similar now?

The 2020 Sacramento City Audit shows determination are 657 occurrence section employees. Approximately 71% are white, and lone 3% are Black — the lowest percent of Black employees retired of each metropolis departments.

“It does instrumentality time,” Ashby said. “We privation Desmond and different radical similar Desmond to beryllium welcomed successful the occurrence section and beryllium a portion of our future.”

“My wherefore is going to beryllium to marque definite I near the section amended than I recovered it,” Lewis said.

CBS13 did scope retired to the Sacramento Fire Department for comment. They accidental since Desmond is technically not yet an employee, they cannot remark connected the matter.

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The section NAACP is helping Desmond done the process of returning to the department. He expects to beryllium backmost connected the occupation earlier the extremity of the year.