From the St. Louis Post-Dispatch: A jury awarded $350,000 to Charles Coyle, a St. Louis deputy chief who claimed racial discrimination when he was passed over in favor of a white subordinate for the top job in 2007.
Coyle, 55, a firefighter since 1978 and deputy chief since 2001, claimed the city violated its charter by reaching below the deputy chief level to choose Dennis Jenkerson as fire chief. Jenkerson was said to be the first person elevated directly from battalion chief to chief.
The city's lawyer, Nancy Kistler, argued in this week's trial in St. Louis Circuit Court that Public Safety Director Charles Bryson, who is black, chose Jenkerson because he had the top test scores and because Bryson thought he was the best fit — not because of race. Read the entire article here.