Brookline Official Calls Town Negligent In Racism Case

BROOKLINE, MA — A Brookline Select Board member is publicly urging the Supreme Judicial Court to rule against the town and for a former firefighter who he said was treated unjustly by the town after reporting racial harassment.

"I’m proud to join Brookline for Racial Justice & Equity and Brookline Budget Justice in filing an Amicus Brief urging the Supreme Judicial Court," said Select Board Member Raul Fernandez in an email.

"For a decade now, Mr. Gerald Alston has sought justice from a series of Brookline Select Boards who repeatedly failed to take responsibility for the injustice done to him by the Town and have been unwilling to take the steps necessary to make him whole," he continued. "One of our most important duties as elected leaders is to protect our community, including our employees, from racial and other forms of discrimination. Brookline’s negligence in failing to provide for a workplace free of racial harassment and the Select Board’s failure to respond appropriately when such harassment occurred is what has brought us to this moment."

The court is set to hear the former firefighter's appeal this week.

Fernandez signed the 25-page brief jointly with Brookline for Racial Justice And Equity, which is a group of teachers, parents, social workers, therapists, Brookline High School students, and citizens and Brookline Budget Justice, a separate group of residents working to reallocate Brookline police funding to schools, housing and social services.

The brief opens:

"The Town of Brookline’s treatment of Gerald Alston is a manifestation of policies that produce and sustain racial inequity between racial groups. In arguing to vacate the Commission’s decision to reinstate Mr. Alston, the Town continues to adhere to these policies by asking the Court to ignore the Commission’s factual findings that the Town of Brookline created a racially hostile environment that was the but-for cause of Mr. Alston’s termination."

"It is now up to the SJC to provide some semblance of justice to Mr. Alston, to send a message to our leadership that his treatment was illegal and unjust and should never happen to anyone again, and to usher in a new age of anti-racist leadership and policymaking," Fernandez said.

Brookline Town Counsel Joslin Murphy said the town has spent $166,064.36 on outside counsel for the case as of Dec. 3.

Previously on Patch:

• Brookline Appeals Superior Court Ruling On Firefighter Alston ...
• Brookline Rejects Ban On Spending In Firefighter ...
• Brookline Town Meeting Votes To Block Funding
• Brookline Racism Case: Federal Court Rules In Favor
• Brookline To Fired Firefighter Gerald Alston: Sorry

In 2010 then-firefighter Alston came forward to report that a racial slur was left on his voicemail by a white supervisor. He had the voicemail to prove it and the claim was not disputed, but the supervisor and an internal investigation concluded that the slur was directed at someone else, not Alston.

What was disputed, was the handling of the incident and the later promotion of the supervisor, who was also recognized by the White House for his work as a firefighter.

Alston was placed on paid leave pending an investigation in 2013 after he made angry comments at work. That year, he brought a lawsuit against Brookline in the Massachusetts Superior Court alleging racial discrimination and retaliation. That case was dismissed with prejudice in 2014, as a sanction for Alston's failure to comply with discovery obligations, according to court documents.

During that year Alston brought a federal suit against the town alleging a systemic pattern of racism and retaliation.

Alston was put on paid leave for a year in an effort to encourage him to comply with the recommendations and come back to work, court records show. The town proposed two different return-to-work dates, but when he did not comply by 2016, they moved to fire him, saying he refused to return to duty or work with officials.

Alston also filed a complaint with the Civil Service Commission, and after the commission ruling in 2019, the town began paying Alston, including back pay. But he has yet to rejoin the force.

Last year, after multiple appeals, the Civil Service Commission ruled the town failed to prevent retaliatory behavior against Alston and enabled the lieutenant to use his position to lobby other members of the force against him. The commission said it was the town's own actions and inaction that made it impossible for Alston to return to work, which formed the basis of the town's decision to fire him.

In May 2019, Town Meeting Members voted to issue an apology to Alston.

Then, in April 2020 a federal court ruled that there was not enough evidence to prove that the town as well as current and former Select Board members, current and former town staff and the International Association of Firefighters Local 950 had taken part in a pattern of racism and retaliation against a firefighter.

Later that year Town Meeting members asked the town to stop spending money on appealing his case in court or with the Civil Service Commission.