Fort Lauderdale’s first gay police chief fired over ‘minority-first’ hiring policy, report says
Larry Scirotto, Fort Lauderdale’s first gay police chief, has been fired after just six months in the role over his approach to hiring and promoting staff.
The 48-year-old was sacked by City Manager Chris Lagerbloom on 3 March, WTVJ reported. He was let go after an investigation into how he made hiring and promotion decisions concluded that he had a minority-first approach.
Towards the end of 2021, four officers – three white and one Hispanic – filed EEOC complaints after a group of minority employees were given promotions by Scirotto. “Many believed that Chief Scirotto made clear his intention to promote, based on race, gender, or sexual orientation,” Lagerbloom stated.
The probe into the chief’s hiring practices stated that Scirotto once called a wall of photos in a conference room “too white” and said, “I’m gonna change that.” On a separate occasion he asked, “which one is blacker?” in reference to people he was considering for promotions.
