There’s a new lawsuit filed against the city of Fort Lauderdale on behalf of its former police chief.
Former Police Chief Larry Scirotto claims he was wrongfully terminated nine months after accepting the position. His termination came after an investigation into complaints that he made hiring and promotion decisions with an improper minority-first approach.
"He believes there's been baseless allegations that have severely damaged his reputation,” Scirotto’s attorney Nicole Martell said. "Mr. Scirotto is looking to set the record straight."
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The former chief is seeking to be reinstated and is suing the city for $10 million for allegedly violating his rights.
“To have my reputation destroyed in such a short period of time with falsehoods is the purpose behind this lawsuit," Scirotto said.
In March 2022, the city fired the former chief after an investigative report conducted by an outside attorney the city hired concluded: “There is a very divisive atmosphere within [FLPD] based on the perception the [Plaintiff] is intentionally using race, gender and sexual orientation as attributes necessary for promotions.”
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Prior to the report, four officers — three white and one Hispanic — filed EEOC complaints alleging that the chief was promoting unfairly.
"He tried to cultivate an equal opportunity, employment environment within the Fort Lauderdale Police Department initially at the direction of city officials,” Martell said.
The 20-page lawsuit filed earlier this month said Scirotto promoted 15 Fort Lauderdale Police Department employees during his time as chief: nine of them were white men, one white woman, two Black men, one Black woman and one Hispanic man and woman.
The lawsuit also states the city manager “assured Scirotto of his unwavering support for his plans to build a diverse workforce within the department.”
“I also expected that the city manager and the leadership would support those decisions especially because they knew those selected candidates were exceptionally qualified," Scirotto said.
The suit later reads the city “was undeniably aware of Plaintiff’s hiring and promotion practices before the EEOC complaint was filed against Plaintiff.”
"His first and foremost goal was not what has been alleged are these discriminatory employment practices, but was in fact to create that equal employment, opportunity environment,” Scirotto said.
Last year, city manager Chris Lagerbloom said the chief crossed the line.
“There’s everything we have to do in the proper way. Again, I go back to the fact that we support a very diverse organization," Lagerbloom said. "We serve a very diverse community and that’s important. There are just certain ways that you can do that and do it legally, and other ways that meet that muster.”
But a few days after his comments, Lagerbloom sent a letter to the police department, stating, "Everyone promoted is absolutely qualified for the role."
"It was contradictory to what he said publicly about me," Scirotto told NBC 6. "...You should also have the responsibility to make that public statement about my promotion process."
The lawsuit asks the court to find the city's conduct to be in violation of Scirotto's rights and reinstate him to the same or an equivalent position, among other requests. It is also demanding a jury trial.
"Former Chief Scirotto is really pursuing this for the sake of addressing his reputation, which simply cannot have a price tag put on it,” Martell said.
A police department spokeswoman sent NBC 6 a statement that said the Fort Lauderdale Police Department does not comment on pending litigation.
NBC 6 reached out to the city of Fort Lauderdale for a statement. A city spokesperson said they don't comment on pending litigation.
