Study of L.A. Fire Dept. Cites Race, Gender Bias : Work<i> e</i> rs: Chief calls it a ‘hatchet job.’ Officials deny that women and minorities are harassed, kept from top jobs.

Despite 20 years of affirmative action policies in the Los Angeles City Fire Department, women and minorities have been locked out of top-level posts and reportedly subjected to widespread sexual and racial harassment at “rookie kill stations,” where efforts are made to run them out of the department, according to a city audit.

The department also suffers from a perception of “nepotism, cronyism” and a promotional system based on “who you know,” the Personnel Department found in a confidential study obtained by The Times.

“A great deal of work remains to be done by the Fire Department, not only to create a work force which reflects the community it serves, but to establish and maintain a healthy, positive working environment which encourages success for all its members,” said the draft 225-page report, which was commissioned by the City Council in April in response to numerous complaints from minority firefighters. They included allegations of hazing, isolation, ridicule for making mistakes and a lack of promotional opportunities.

“There must be a concerted effort on the part of Fire Department management to dispel the perception and incidence of nepotism, cronyism, differential application of discipline, differential treatment of women and minorities and a ‘good old boy’ syndrome,” the report said.

Officials in the 3,100-member department disputed the report’s findings Friday, saying they were based on unscientific methodology, inaccurate figures and anonymous statements from a small number of biased firefighters.

“It is just rife with inaccuracies and absolutely incorrect information,” said Assistant Chief Dean E. Cathey, a department spokesman. “It’s the shabbiest piece of staff work that I have ever seen.”

“It’s clearly a hatchet job,” said Fire Chief Donald O. Manning, who said the sampling of firefighters interviewed represented a scant 2% of the department.

The report, which will be made public Wednesday at a hearing of the council’s Personnel Committee, was based on an analysis of hiring practices since 1974 and interviews with 84 former and current firefighters. Among the findings:

* Of the 20 top department officials and administrators, 95% are white men, and there are no Asian Americans, women or blacks. Minority representation in those ranks is less than it was in 1990, when white men held 83% of the chief, deputy chief and assistant chief slots.

* Women and minority firefighters reported a significant amount of hostility at eight so-called “kill stations,” where “management allegedly sends (female and minority rookies) specifically to see them fail.” At these stations, also called “houses of pain,” the firefighters said they were ostracized and given inadequate training.

* At other stations, captains called Latinos “lazy Mexicans” and told a rookie African American firefighter: “I don’t want to see your black ass make it.”

* Officials who hold key administrative positions that serve as promotional springboards are often allowed to recommend their replacements. Information about promotions is not widely publicized. Consequently, “members outside those circles do not have a clear idea of the qualifications management is seeking.”

* The department needs to develop comprehensive manuals addressing race discrimination and sex discrimination in the workplace.

Councilman Mark Ridley-Thomas, who requested the audit, said Friday the report highlights longstanding problems that have been tolerated by department officials. He said he did not doubt the accuracy of the findings.

“There’s an obvious problem here that simply has to be corrected,” he said. “I’m very anxious to see how the department is going to step up to the plate and correct these problems.”

Said Fire Commissioner Larry Gonzalez: “I have received a number of complaints from minority firefighters, particularly Latinos, who have said to me it is very difficult to promote within the department. . . . I don’t need a report to tell me there is a problem.”

Councilwoman Jackie Goldberg had read only about 40 pages of the report Friday but said she was particularly troubled that officials are able to recommend their own replacements.

“One thing for sure, we need a merit-based system,” said Goldberg, chairwoman of the Personnel Committee.

Chief Manning has proposed a department reorganization that would increase minority and female hiring and promotion by starting career guidance programs and beefing up outreach efforts. The plan would also improve tracking of discrimination allegations and revise complaint procedures.

The department was not integrated until after the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark Brown vs. Board of Education ruling in 1954. Since 1974, the department has operated under a federal consent decree that settled a discrimination lawsuit. The department agreed that at least half of all new recruits would be black, Latino or Asian American each year until the percentages of those minorities in the department equaled the percentages in the city population.

The decree was amended in 1981 to allow officials to limit the percentage of white applicants to achieve the 50% minority figure.

Currently, the department is 62% white, 23% Latino, 11% black and 4% Asian. Women make up 3% of the force.

The audit acknowledged that the consent decree has sparked resentment among many white firefighters, who feel that it is reverse discrimination.

Cathey said the department has exceeded the goals of the decree by making minorities 57% of all new hires, increasing overall minority representation by 600% since 1974. And the department has made a 242% increase in the number of minorities in promotional ranks, he said.

Manning noted that ethnic representation among African American firefighters mirrors their population percentage in the city. He also noted that an American Civil Liberties Union study of regional fire departments, released last month, found that the city Fire Department ranked among the best in terms of ethnic representation.

Firefighters quoted in the audit said a disproportionate number of female and minority recruits were sent to the eight “rookie kill stations.” There, firefighters said, women and minorities were denied training when they asked for assistance and were ridiculed when they made mistakes.

“In contrast, white male probationers who made similar mistakes were believed to have been treated with less harshness or given encouragement,” the report said. “It was also noted that the tactics of isolation and hazing are used to create a hostile environment for women and minorities.”

The firefighters interviewed faulted captains at the allegedly troubled stations for not discouraging the abusive behavior.

Problems were reported at other stations. One black rookie who quit the department said he was racially harassed by a captain who told him: “You are slowly growing to be a pain. I don’t want to see your black ass make it anyway.”

At another station, a Latino firefighter, who also quit, said the captain called Latinos “stupid Mexicans” on two occasions.

Assistant Chief Cathey said he could not independently verify whether such comments were made but added that the department does not tolerate insensitivity.

The audit acknowledged that the department has made significant improvements at entry-level firefighter positions, noting that overall minority representation in the department has increased by 32% among uniformed members.

But diversity has not been reflected in the upper managerial ranks, the report found.

“It is felt that 20 years under a consent decree is sufficient time to produce a representation level higher than what is present,” the report said.

That lack of representation, according to the audit, is the result of several factors.

When vacancies occur in certain “plum” assignments--jobs in which officials work directly with a chief officer and learn administrative procedures--there has been a reliance upon incumbents to identify possible replacements, the report said. Those positions include medical liaison and administrative justice positions, which have been filled mainly by white men.

“There is a near total consensus that these positions are filled almost exclusively on the basis of nepotism and cronyism and that work-related qualifications are not the primary basis for selection,” the audit said.

The audit also cited a “lack of equal access concerning career promotion” as another hurdle to minority and female promotions. Some firefighters interviewed charged that captains refused to offer training at stations. Others said that training and promotional materials were not uniformly distributed at the city’s 103 fire stations.

“Further, because personal referral has served as the basis for so much placement in the department, members outside of those circles do not have a clear idea of the qualifications management is seeking, particularly for special duty positions,” the report said.

Manning said that it takes time for diversity to reach the upper levels, but that the department is making significant progress. “It’s coming along and we are making great strides,” he said.

The chief also said the position of officer in charge of overseeing affirmative action matters was eliminated because of budget cuts three years ago. However, that position has been proposed in the reorganization, Manning said.