Gay police chief sacked over ‘minorities first’ hiring

Head of Florida force accused of prioritising promotions for black and homosexual officers

A POLICE chief in Florida has been fired for prioritising gay officers and people of colour for promotions after an investigation into discrimination complaints.

Larry Scirotto, 48, was fired after just six months in the job following allegations that he made hiring and promotion decisions with an improper minority-first approach.

Mr Scirotto, a former assistant chief in Pittsburgh, was the first openly gay chief hired in Fort Lauderdale and is also from a mixed-race background.

An investigation into the bias complaints concluded that Mr Scirotto was unfairly focused on minority candidates for jobs and noted that he once said a conference room wall of photos was “too white” and added: “I’m gonna change that.” The report quoted Mr Scirotto as saying he intended to “consider diversity at every opportunity”.

On one occasion, when considering a promotion, the investigation found that Mr Scirotto said “which one is blacker?” when choosing between two candidates. He denies saying this.

“Overall, there is a very divisive atmosphere within the department based on the perception the chief is intentionally using race, gender and sexual orientation as attributes necessary for promotions,” the investigative report concluded. “While the goal to diversify is an important and laudable goal, it must be accomplished in a legally permissible manner.”

Chris Lagerbloom, city manager, said: “We strive to be diverse in our organisation. We strive to represent the community that we serve. There’s just certain lawful ways to allow that diversity to happen.

“In this case, the investigative report indicated we didn’t quite follow the law in how we were working towards those diverse positions.” Mr Scirotto has hit back at the investigation, telling 7News: “Those minority groups are now being treated as if they were less than deserving, and that’s not the case.”

Mr Scirotto told CNN he promoted 15 people from August to November, and of that group, six were ethnic or gender minorities selected for promotions based on their merit.

“None of them were promoted because they were in a protected class,” he said.

“They were promoted because they were the best candidates.” The department has about 530 officers and 179 civilian employees.

Mr Scirotto said he was planning to file a wrongful termination lawsuit against the city. “If promoting diversity is the hill I’m going to die on, I will sleep well tonight,” he said. “I won’t allow them to tarnish my reputation.”

Florida has been grappling with LGBT issues in recent weeks. Governor Ron Desantis is poised to sign a bill banning LGBT teaching in schools, described by critics as a “don’t say gay” law, as he sets his sights on the White House.