A group of high-ranking FDNY chiefs on Monday filed a lawsuit to halt Commissioner Laura Kavanagh’s decision to demote them and others in what they called a “retaliatory” move.
The legal action, filed in Brooklyn Supreme Court, seeks to stop impending demotions expected to go into effect later this week after Kavanagh pulled the trigger on the controversial shake-up earlier this month.
The four chiefs who brought the suit argue the expected and past demotions of top FDNY commanders pose a “grave risk” to the public safety of all New Yorkers.
The plaintiffs include FDNY Assistant Chief of Fire Prevention Joe Jardin, Assistant Chief of Operations Michael Gala, Assistant Chief of Operations Fred Schaaf and Chief of Uniformed Personnel Michael Massucci.
They argue in the legal action they and other chiefs were caught up in a “pattern of abuse of power and retaliation,” by Kavanagh because they questioned her decisions.
Jardin, Gala and Schaaf were all removed from incident command duties on Feb. 3, the lawsuit states. Massucci requested a demotion in a show of unity.
“Kavanagh has, over the course of the last four months, waged a war against FDNY’s most experienced and important operational commanders,” the legal filing argues. “In an effort to punish them for raising concerns about safety policies, and without any regard to the public-safety implications, Respondent Kavanagh reassigned and then demoted (actually or constructively) nine Staff Chiefs, including the two most senior officers.”
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The legal papers insist that the demotions will leave no staff chiefs with experience as incident commanders for 5-alarm fires, and only a small handful of officials with 4-alarm command experience.
Kavanagh’s moves are “putting firefighters and the entire New York City citizenry they work to protect at grave risk of harm,” the suit argues.
Jim Walden, an attorney for the chiefs, said his clients were among some of the city’s most decorated chiefs who “devoted their lives to the service of public safety.”
“These are some of the same firefighters who put their own lives at risk on September 11 and on countless other occasions to uphold their oath to protect New Yorkers from lethal fires,” Walden continued.
“To remove these experienced officials from their essential safety functions puts lives at risk and is simply a gross misjudgment and dereliction of duty by the Commissioner,” said Walden. “We are hopeful that the Court will recognize the urgent public safety interest in this legal action by a united and dedicated group of the City’s public servants, and that their roles will be restored swiftly.”
The FDNY did not immediately return an email seeking comment Monday night.
