A suburban firefighter who claims he’s the victim of reverse discrimination saw his civil-rights suit snuffed out by a Manhattan appeals court yesterday.
The ruling said Mount Vernon firefighter Joseph Carroll, who is white, “offered no evidence” that officials rushed to draw up a new promotion list after black firefighters threatened to sue if he made lieutenant.
Carroll had moved up to second from ninth on an old promotion list when two lieutenant slots opened up in July 2007, before the results of recent civil-service tests were compiled.
Carroll claims that during an interview, the chief-of-staff to then-Mayor Ernie Davis told him that while “everything looked good” for his promotion, “it was not going to happen,” due to objections from the Vulcan Society of Westchester County, which represents black firefighters.
Four days later, a new promotion list put Carroll, who this time ranked 16th, out of the running.
In its decision, the US Second Circuit Court of Appeals said Carroll presented no proof that Mount Vernon officials intentionally delayed his promotion until after the new list was ready — and faulted him for pressing his case too soon.