KICK THE CAN

Fort Lauderdale Police Chief Canned After Diversity Push

An outside law firm accused him of discrimination, including an incident in which he allegedly asked, “Which one is Blacker?” of two job candidates.

The city of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, fired its police chief last week over accusations he unfairly focused on minorities when hiring and promoting people, CNN reports. A report by a law firm found that Larry Scirotto, who only took the job in August, pledged to other officers that he would reshape the department’s “too white” image. One instance allegedly involved Scirotto passing over a white candidate in favor of two Black officers, after which he allegedly asked someone, “Which one is Blacker?” Scirotto pushed back in an interview with CNN, arguing he only promoted the best people for the job and indicating he plans to file a wrongful termination lawsuit. “If promoting diversity is the hill I’m going to die on, I will sleep well tonight,” he said.