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Firefighter tells black woman in need of medical help she should “stop eating fried chicken”

Firefighter tells black woman in need of medical help she should “stop eating fried chicken” news Fire Department

A Providence, Rhode Island firefighter has lost his job for telling a black woman she should “stop eating fried chicken” when he responded to a call for medical help earlier in the year.

Andre Ferro, who has faced disciplinary action in the past for violating the department’s sexual harassment policy was fired for making the racially insensitive comments on Tuesday. This, according to Public Safety Commissioner Steven Pare.

“After considering his previous disciplinary history, Ferro’s conduct of March 15, 2017, and the context in which it arose and the potential damage to the reputation of the Providence Fire Department as a result of firefighter Ferro’s conduct, the board finds the only appropriate penalty to be imposed is termination,” the Fire Department Trial Board wrote in its 2-1 decision.

According to their decision, Ferro responded to a medical call at an apartment building on Dodge Street at about 7 pm on March 15. The woman had a “nosebleed that would not stop.”

While other firefighters tried to stop the woman’s bleeding nose, Ferro allegedly told the woman’s daughter that her mom “should stop eating fried chicken.”

— Officer wearing ‘Police Lives Matter’ pin and firefighter wearing ‘Black Lives Matter’ pin clash — 

According to the decision, there was no fried food in sight or any smell of fried food in the home.

Ferro admits he made the comment but “in the context of other types of foods to avoid such as cheese, bacon and burritos.”

Several witnesses testified that they felt the remark was racist.

Ferro’s wife, who is black, testified that she had never heard her husband make racially motivated comments in the past.

Ferro and the firefighters’ union asked that he receive “cultural sensitivity training,” but the board said it placed “significant weight” on his previous misconduct.

In 2008, Ferro was fired for violating sexual harassment policies but was later “reinstated as a result of an arbitration award and a last chance agreement,” according to the board. He received a one-year suspension and had to undergo sexual harassment training.

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