Full probe of hazing claim was rejected

Two key Los Angeles Fire Department commanders called for a full investigation of a 2004 incident in which firefighters laced a black colleague’s meal with dog food, but top officials chose not to dig deeper.

The commander who collected written statements from firefighters in the case also believed they were attempting to cover it up, according to confidential department records reviewed by The Times.

Battalion Chief Steven J. Coleman, who supervised the station where the incident occurred, strongly recommended that a broader investigation be immediately launched.

Such an inquiry, Coleman wrote, would “send a clear message to all concerned members of the department’s view of this heinous action, and head off any adverse public reaction or legal action.”

But top commanders decided the case without conducting a deeper probe that might have helped determine if what had happened to firefighter Tennie Pierce was racially motivated, as he now charges in a lawsuit against the city. A full inquiry -- known in the department as an advocate investigation -- would have exposed the firefighters to interrogation by officers trained in internal affairs.

Instead, Deputy Chief Andrew Fox, commander of the Bureau of Operations, which oversees departmentwide discipline, recommended suspending the two captains and a firefighter considered most culpable.

Records and interviews show that the firefighters were never formally questioned. And their explanation that the incident with the 6-foot-5-inch Pierce occurred after a volleyball game helped form the basis for the Fire Department’s final recommendation.

“This incident occurred as a result of Firefighter Pierce declaring himself Big Dog,” Fox wrote, “and members under Captain [Christopher] Burton’s command played a practical joke in order to humble him.”

Fox did not respond Thursday to calls for comment.

In recent weeks, Pierce’s racial discrimination and retaliation lawsuit has roiled City Hall and led to the resignation of Fire Chief William Bamattre, hired a decade ago to reform a force that even then was riven by accusations of racism, sexism and cronyism. The City Council agreed last month to settle the Pierce case for $2.7 million, only to have Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa veto the offer after a flood of criticism over the size of the award and the revelation of photos showing that Pierce had joined in some firehouse hazing episodes.

Relatively few details of the Fire Department’s own review of the case have surfaced publicly, but the records and interviews with department sources offer an inside look at how fire officials handled the incident.

The documents also shed light on an internal disciplinary process that a recent city audit found to be plagued by “pervasive and systemic” problems including “inadequate investigation, poorly trained advocacy and arbitrary penalties” that make it difficult to determine the extent of racial and sexual harassment.

“The LAFD’s system of administering employee discipline fails to meet the city policy standard of fair, equitable, progressive discipline,” according to an executive summary of the Personnel Department audit.

The Pierce case began Oct. 14, 2004, at Fire Station 5 in Westchester. Firefighters allegedly started laughing while Pierce ate a spaghetti dinner laced with dog food. He said in his lawsuit that he realized something was wrong and left the room.

Afterward, Capt. Burton and Capt. John Tohill, the station supervisors, met in their office with the other firefighters and decided not to say anything to Coleman, Fox wrote in discipline reports for the two supervisors.

“The members of Fire Station 5 attempted to conceal the act,” Fox said in a subsequent discipline report for a firefighter who was found to have mixed the dog food in the meal.

Pierce went off duty the next morning, was injured on a subsequent shift and took some time off. After he returned to work, he told the chief of another battalion what had happened.

On Nov. 17, that chief passed the information to Coleman, who then reached Pierce at his home, records show.

Pierce said he wanted disciplinary actions to be taken against the white captains and Latino firefighter. He also asked to be transferred and to see a department psychologist, the battalion chief wrote, “for assistance with issues he had in dealing with what had been perpetrated against him.”

Coleman subsequently asked the 10 or so firefighters who were present during the dinner to state in writing what had happened, according to records and interviews with sources who spoke on the condition that they not be identified because they had not been authorized to make public comments.

Based on their written statements, Coleman found that Tohill had purchased the dog food when the crew went shopping for groceries to prepare firehouse meals. The battalion chief also determined that on the night Pierce was served the spaghetti, Burton -- the senior captain at the station and a 33-year veteran -- was aware that the food had been tainted and was present when Pierce ate it. The battalion chief was told that firefighters considered it a “practical joke.”

Coleman concluded that the plate was prepared by firefighter Jorge Arevalo, who has since said through his attorney that neither his actions nor those of the other firefighters were racially motivated.

In a Nov. 26 report to his supervisor, Coleman indicated that he had received conflicting statements and said his inquiry had hit a wall.

“All attempts to gather additional facts [have] been stymied by what appears to be a collective attempt by the members concerned to conceal involvement and to downplay the severity of their actions,” he wrote to Asst. Chief Roxanne V. Bercik.

Coleman recommended that an investigation be conducted by department advocates to “determine the full extent” of what had transpired.

Bercik wrote her own report Nov. 28, saying she had spoken with Coleman and concurred that an advocate investigation was needed.

“We both agreed that this situation was so egregious,” wrote Bercik, who is now Bamattre’s chief of staff.

Bercik also was critical of the two captains involved. “It is very apparent,” she wrote, “that these officers do not truly comprehend the magnitude of this incident or their conduct as supervisors.”

She said that the captains and Arevalo should be transferred to another fire station until an advocate investigation could be performed.

In keeping with the department’s chain of command, she then sent her report and Coleman’s to her boss, Deputy Chief Mario D. Rueda, head of the Bureau of Emergency Services, which oversees daily firehouse activities. A stamp on both reports shows they were received by Rueda’s office Nov. 30, 2004.

On Dec. 20, Rueda wrote a memo to Deputy Chief Fox.

“It is respectfully recommended that discipline commensurate with department policy is considered for Capt. Burton’s, Capt. Tohill’s and Firefighter Arevalo’s violation of department policy,” Rueda wrote.

His letter made no reference to the other commanders’ request for an advocate investigation.

Rueda said Thursday that his memo was “a mere formality” and that Fox’s Operations Bureau would have made the decision to conduct an advocate investigation. He said he was not aware of any attempt to discourage a formal probe. “There was zero interest in covering this up,” he said.

Battalion Chief Millage Peaks, the officer in charge of daily discipline activities, also wrote three reports on February 23, 2005, recommending that the two captains and firefighter receive suspensions.

In an interview with The Times, Peaks said he was aware of Coleman’s report but said that any decision to conduct an advocate investigation would have been made by his boss, Deputy Chief Fox, who probably would have consulted with Bamattre.

“I can’t send advocates without a letter from the fire chief,” Peaks said.

On April 14, 2005, Fox wrote Bamattre and asked for a 24-day suspension for Tohill and 30 days for Burton. Fox later recommended a six-day penalty for Arevalo.

Bamattre approved all the discipline.

robert.lopez@latimes.com

*

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX)

Reconstructing the inquiry

--

Firefighters of Station 5 >>Steven J. Coleman (Battalion chief), Station 5>>Roxanne V.Bercik (Assistant chief) >>Mario D. Rueda (Deputy chief)>>Andrew Fox (Deputy chief) >>William Bamattre (Fire chief)

--

Chronology of events

--

Oct. 14, 2004: Fire-fighters at Station 5 in Westchester lace Tennie Pierce’s spaghetti dinner with dog food. | Nov. 17: Battalion Chief Steven J. Coleman, who supervises Station 5, asks firefighters suspected of being involved to submit written statements. | Nov. 26: Coleman writes a report to his supervisor, Asst. Chief Roxanne V. Bercik, saying firefighters were apparently trying to conceal the facts and recommending an immediate investigation. | Nov. 28: Bercik writes a report to her supervisor, Deputy Chief Mario D. Rueda, and agrees with the need for an investigation. | Dec. 20: Rueda writes a memo to Deputy Chief Andrew Fox, who oversees department wide discipline. Rueda recommends disciplinary actions but makes no reference to the broader investigation requests. | April 14, 2005: Fox writes a memo to Fire Chief William Bamattre, recommending suspensions of 30 days and 24 days, respectively, for two Station 5 captains. | June 6: Fox writes a memo to Bamattre requesting a six-day suspension for the firefighter who allegedly mixed the dog food in Pierce’splate. | Nov. 10: Pierce files a lawsuit in state court, alleging racial harassment and retaliation. | Nov. 8, 2006: The City Council, after conferring with the city attorney’s office, agrees to pay Pierce $2.7 million to settle his lawsuit. | Nov. 20: Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa vetoes the settlement offer after a wave of public criticism and photos that surfaced of Pierce engaging in an apparent hazing incident. | Nov. 29: The City Council votes to uphold the mayor’s veto.

*

Sources: Confidential LAFD records and Times news reports