Lynwood : Fireman Hiring Freeze OKd

A freeze has been ordered on the hiring of firefighters while an investigation is conducted into allegations of racial discrimination. At the urging of Mayor Robert Henning, the Lynwood City Council voted 3-1 Tuesday not to hire firemen for the 36-person department until the city resolves allegations that a black applicant was discriminated against.

Henning said a black fireman from Houston, Tex., who recently applied for a job with the Lynwood department, alleges that he was discriminated against. Henning said the fireman informed him that he passed the written and physical examinations and was told after he took the oral portion that he failed. “He was told that he finished 26 on a list of 25. This is ridiculous. He has three years experience as a fireman,” Henning said.

There are no black firefighters in the Fire Department, but there are three Latinos and one woman. The only black firefighter the department had was recently hired by another city, a department spokesman said.

The majority of the 50,000 residents of Lynwood are blacks and Latinos, Henning said, “and there should be at least some black firemen.” Henning said an administrative investigation would be conducted, and if he is not satisfied he might ask for an outside consulting firm to investigate the city’s hiring practices.

The Houston fireman, whom Henning identified as Gregory E. Handy, is expected to be at the council’s Oct. 21 meeting to relate his story.