John Wayne Photo Fuels Firehouse Tension

A 20-year-old picture of movie legend John Wayne is stirring up already divisive feelings in the Los Angeles County Fire Department after a Carson battalion chief ordered a portrait of Wayne off the wall of the Victoria Street station.

So many firefighters were incensed by the order that the union has filed a grievance, even though the picture was quickly reinstated by county Fire Chief P. Michael Freeman. Union members contend that Battalion Chief Daniel Scott abused his authority when he removed the photo.

Scott declined to comment on the matter. Fire Department officials paint the controversy as involving proper office decor. They say Scott simply thought that the picture did not belong on an office wall where pictures of public officials were displayed.

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But the brass also concedes that the incident occurred against a backdrop of racial tension in the department, with some rank-and-file firefighters complaining about what they see as uneven treatment and promotion policies.

According to a memo on the Wayne portrait, Scott, who is black, reportedly called the picture offensive, likening Wayne to controversial Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan.

The memo from John Price, director of Firefighters Union Local 1014, to department operations chief Darrell Higuchi quotes Scott as purportedly saying, “How would you like it if I had a picture of Farrakhan in my office?”

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The battalion is one of the most ethnically diverse in the department, and Freeman and rank-and-file officers said that racially related complaints are becoming commonplace.

After the Wayne incident, the division grew so heated that Freeman will meet Monday with the county’s affirmative action compliance office to set up a panel to try to defuse the situation.

“I’m concerned that a lot of this information has not been made available to me,” Freeman said. “It’s time to go on another avenue and have outside experts review the situation.”

Union members agree that the issue needs to be addressed. “There has been a lot of racial tension in that battalion,” said union President Dallas Jones.

The glossy 8 x 10 of Wayne, known for his cowboy and war movies, has hung for 20 years at Station No. 116 on a wall next to another wall that contains pictures of the county supervisors and department chief.

Though the picture came down Sept. 27, Battalion Chief Roy Chapman, who works alongside Scott, said that orders to put the picture back up came from Freeman’s office four days later. Chapman said that the battalion chiefs and captains at the station had not been consulted about removing the picture and did not concur with the decision.

According to union officials, there is no written policy that prohibits firefighters from hanging portraits such as Wayne’s. Higuchi issued a clarification Wednesday that states that personal pictures should not be hung on the same wall as those of public officials and that shift captains should discuss the decor.

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The picture of Wayne has been rehung in the same spot. Jones said that many fire officials hang pictures of John Wayne in their office, considering him to be a symbol of rugged individualism.

Scott would not comment on why he compared Wayne to Farrakhan. But his supervisor, Assistant Chief Hershel Clady, said Scott used Farrakhan’s name to illustrate the type of picture that might offend someone. He said Scott consulted him about removing the picture because he did not feel that it was appropriate to hang a picture of a movie star in a public office.

And other firefighters might not have seen the same symbolism in Wayne that Jones described. A member of the Stentorians, a group of African American firefighters, said many blacks find Wayne offensive.

“When I think of John Wayne, I think white, conservative, Republican Orange County,” said firefighter Victor Spencer, who works in Windsor Hills near the Crenshaw area. “It sends a subtle political message that is what the climate of the station is. It has similar connotations as the Confederate flag.”

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But many white firefighters felt that the incident was an attack on them. “Race is very volatile in the department,” said a white Carson firefighter who did not want to be named. “To associate Louis Farrakhan with John Wayne, two totally different kinds of people, shows that there is tension among the troops.”

Price, a 30-year department veteran, said that morale is down and that the internal affairs division is inundated with complaints. He said he has never seen so many grievances and exam appeals as in the last few years.

In 1995, 70 firefighters appealed the promotion portion of the captain’s exam, more than triple the number in 1988, when about 20

appeals were made, Price said. He added that the union also has been hearing many complaints about racial tension and inequity throughout the department.

Freeman acknowledged that tensions are occurring departmentwide, but nowhere is it as strained as in Battalion 7.

Freeman said he has heard the rumblings of discontent from the 120-member Carson battalion. He was unaware of the specific allegations against Scott, he said, but has heard complaints about dual sets of standards involving disciplinary actions for blacks and whites. He denies that management plays favorites.

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The department follows county civil policies, which support affirmative action, Freeman said. The panel that will be set up after Monday’s meeting will privately interview firefighters, who are concerned about retaliation if they speak up.

Scott has been the focus of at least one formal harassment complaint. Richard Faulk, an engineer in Lakewood, filed the complaint against the then-captain after working under his command at a southwest Los Angeles fire station.

According to attorney Ronald Faulk, who is representing his brother, Richard Faulk filed a harassment suit against the department in 1993. He alleged that Scott discriminated against him while working at Station 14 on Normandie Avenue at 108th Street. The suit alleged that Scott interfered with Faulk’s performance and passed him over when it came to assignments at the predominantly black station.

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Ronald Faulk said Scott did not give his brother a performance evaluation for three years, though Richard Faulk repeatedly asked for them. He said that when Richard Faulk completed his exam to become a captain, he was denied the promotion because the evaluations had not been completed.

The Fire Department conducted an investigation, but found that none of the allegations of harassment and racial discrimination could be verified.

The case was appealed to the Civil Service Commission, which according to a report on the hearing, found that Faulk had been scored unfairly and raised his grade three points. But that was not enough for a promotion. The case has been appealed to Los Angeles Superior Court, where a judicial review is pending.