The first black female firefighter ever hired by a South Florida city has filed a $100,000 lawsuit alleging defamation and negligence after it unveiled a mural showing her depicted as a white woman.
The former Boynton Beach deputy fire chief Latosha Clemons claims the artwork. an emotional and financial career commissioned to honour her 25-year career with the fire department was deliberately modified, causing her emotional and financial distress.
Being depicted as white was not only a false presentation of Clemons, it was also a depiction which completely disrespected all that Clemons, first black firefighter for the city, had accomplished, her determination, focus and hard work, the reads.
The controversy over the mural began in 2019, when Ms Clemons approved use of the photo of her and two other firemen to be used to create a public work by Boynton Beach City Art Commission.
When the mural was unveiled in June 2020, it did not reflect Clemons as a black member of the city fire department. Instead, it was changed and reflected her as a White member of the city fire department, the complaint said.
The mural also altered an image of Boynton Fire Chief Glenn Joseph, a black man, showing him as white.
Debby Coles-Dobay was fired as the city manager of public art. She later told the Palm Beach Post that she was pressured by a former fire chief to make changes to the mural, which was demoted before resigning.
The lawsuit filed in April alleges the actions of the city were knowingly and intentionally to injure Clemons She is now seeking a jury trial to decide the case.
The Boynton Beach City Commission told CNN that it will meet in closed-door sessions to discuss the litigation next week.
Ms Clemons joined the city fire department in 1996 and rose to the rank of deputy fire chief before retiring in 2020.