Camden Fire Department race suit settled

A formal settlement has been reached in an eight-year racial-discrimination lawsuit brought by two Camden deputy fire chiefs against the city and its fire chief.

Under the agreement, Terrence Crowder, who retired from the department in May, and Kevin Hailey, who is expected to retire next year, will receive $1.15 million.

In addition, Fire Chief Joseph Marini will step down, and all supervisory fire officers with the rank of captain or higher will undergo diversity training.

Marini will retire effective Dec. 31. Chief Herbert Leary, also named in the suit, already has retired.

The agreement was signed by U.S. District Court Judge Jerome B. Semandle on Thursday, according to Gregg Zeff, attorney for Crowder and Hailey.

"It is our great hope we can move the Fire Department forward at this point, and the shroud that has covered this sad situation will be lifted," Zeff said yesterday.

Neither Marini nor the city's attorneys could be reached for comment yesterday. Efforts to find Leary were unsuccessful.

Crowder and Hailey, who are African American, sued the city in 2001, alleging discrimination and a hostile work environment involving Marini and Leary, who are white. In 2005, a jury found for Crowder and Hailey.

After the verdict, they continued to work for Marini, but alleged that the racial discrimination persisted and that they faced retaliation. They filed a second suit in 2006. This week's settlement resolved both matters.

In their suits, Crowder and Hailey claimed they were passed over for promotions, denied overtime, and subjected to racial comments.

They alleged that subordinates ignored their orders because of their race, and that their superiors retaliated against them after they called attention to what they believed was an excessive amount of overtime charged by the department.

Crowder said that he was glad the suits were over but that the settlement didn't make up for the pain he had suffered.

"I don't know if I'm ever going to see justice," he said. "The question is, will the Fire Department change for the better?"

Crowder said it was important to him that, as part of the settlement, Marini would step down.

"We were flabbergasted that he was never removed," he said.

The agreement stipulates that the diversity training, to begin by March 31, must be "meaningful," Zeff said.

If Crowder and Hailey do not believe it is, Zeff said, the judge gave them the option to challenge it.