I'm outraged," Clemons told the Palm Beach Post in June 2020. "It's been my heart and soul and my lifeblood to serve in the community where I grew up. LaVerriere has previously said she was unaware of the changesto the mural. acted outside the scope of their employment and without the city's knowledge or consent."Īrthur Schofield, Clemons' West Palm Beach-based attorney, declined comment on the lawsuit this week because the case is pending.Ĭity Manager Lori LaVerriere did not responded to a request for comment. Clemons' attorneys have requested a jury trial.Ī photograph of three women - Clemons and two white female firefighters - served as the template for the mural, which when completed, however, portrayed all three women as white. The 2019 project by the city's art commission to honor the fire department also included a depiction of Glenn Joseph, the city's former fire chief, who is also Black, and whose image also was represented as that of a white man.īoynton Beach officials wanted Clemons depicted as white, "a race the city presumably felt better fit the image it was trying to project," according to court documents.īoynton city attorneys James Cherof and Gal Betesh assert in a court filing the "employee(s) responsible for altering the mural. Possibilities range from a settlement with Clemons to litigating the case in court. Latosha Clemons, who rose the ranks to become Boynton's first Black deputy fire chief, is seeking more than $100,000 in damages, according to the lawsuit filed in April.Īttorneys will meet in a closed-door session with commissioners on Tuesday to seek direction in the case. City attorneys and commissioners will meet next week to discuss a lawsuit filed by Boynton Beach's first Black female firefighter after her image was represented as white on a public mural.
Smothers says as soon as he can, despite the suit, he will return to work for the DC Fire Department.BOYNTON BEACH, Fla. “They will be responding to a lawsuit because we’re gonna file one within the next two weeks and then will get to the bottom of it,” said Lightfoot. Smothers’ attorney, former DC councilmember William Lightfoot hopes this imminent lawsuit will prevent others from being severely injured or killed. Firefighters Call for Staging Policy Change after Fatal Fire
The DC Fire Union contends crews may have been able to save the young man’s life had they stationed closer.įirefighterNation: D.C. In April, a young lawyer lost his life in an apartment fire. Thursday night in a statement, the department said, in part, recommended actions “will be made so that we are doing all that we can to make sure that something like this won’t happen again,” including staging blocks away from the scene of a fire. Since the accident, DC Fire and EMS has implemented new guidelines. He recently got married and just last week welcomed a baby girl named Alliyah. His dream of one day becoming an officer will likely never happen, but he says life must go on. Smothers comes from a family of firefighters and is still an employee of DC Fire although he has not reported back to work. “It gave me the feeling of being kicked while I was down at my lowest point.” Doing what I was supposed to do,” said Smothers. That same report also contends Smothers’ “lapse in situational awareness and lack of fire ground experience ” were factors in the accident. He’s now also legally blind in one eye and with virtually no function of his left arm.Īfter being hospitalized for three months, Smothers has relearned basic functions including walking and continues intensive physical therapy.Ī 60-page after-report maintains blindspots were a leading factor that led Smothers to be pinned between a parked fire engine and a moving ladder truck. He’s undergone 12 surgeries since the accident and will likely have to undergo even more. Everything on the left side of me was pretty much crushed – broken leg. “I was on the red bumper on the back step of the fire engine grabbing a hose and as I begin to turn that’s when everything just went dark.