Racist Facebook Posts Behind Detroit Fire Captain’s Discipline: Officials

DETROIT, MI — A Detroit fire captain was placed on unpaid administrative leave Tuesday after complaints were lodged about dozens of posts on his social media account that civil rights leaders said were racially and ethnically charged. The Detroit Fire Department, calling the accusations “profoundly disturbing,” said it has launched an investigation.

The posts were brought to the attention of fire officials by the Council on American-Islamic Relations of Michigan, which reviewed more than 50 posts it said unfairly depicted Muslims, African-Americans, Latinos, Asians and Orthodox Jews. CAIR-MI said in a statement the posts are symptomatic of a “xenophobic and racist atmosphere” that has permeated the fire department, prompting a recent federal civil rights complaint filed on behalf of a Muslim paramedic who alleged mistreatment by fire Capt. Tim Goodman.

Goodman was named by the group as the person responsible for the social media posts in question.

“No civil servant who risks their life to save others should be subjected to explicit and implicit racism and xenophobia in the workplace,” CAIR-MI staff attorney Amy Doukoure said in a statement.

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Attempts by Patch to locate Goodman’s email, social media account and telephone contact information for a request for comment were unsuccessful.

In a statement Tuesday, Executive Fire Commissioner Eric Jones didn’t specifically name Goodman, though WXYZ-TV reported city officials confirmed Goodman is the author of the questionable Facebook posts.

“The Detroit Fire Department prides itself on the delivery of service regardless of race, gender, ethnicity, or religious affiliation,” Jones wrote in the statement. “The current matters brought to light through the Council on American-Islamic Relations are profoundly disturbing. … The city of Detroit has a zero tolerance policy against any and all discrimination. Employees of the Detroit Fire Department are expected to adhere to that policy without fail.”

Dawud Walid, executive director of CAIR-MI, applauded the fire department’s response to the situation. “We’re glad they’re taking this very seriously,” he told The Detroit News.

Among the discriminatory posts, CAIR-MI said, was one featuring a photo taken a few blocks from the firehouse where Goodman works that showed a group of African-Americans gathered at a tent where cellphones were being distributed to food stamp and Medicaid recipients, along with the message, “In case you were wondering what the hell is wrong with America, I took this pic an hour ago at the corner of Greenfield and Grand River in Deeeeetroit.”

Other minorities and ethnic groups were similarly targeted, CAIR-MI said, noting posts that referenced putting wet electronic devices in rice to “attract Asians to fix your electronics”; suggested Latino immigrants will do “anything for papers”; and showed images of Orthodox Jews with references to anti-Semitic stereotypes.

Posts targeting Muslims and Arab Americans included memes that suggested “they’re all terrorists”; said he (Goodman) “drives a car, no a camel” and “eats bacon not hummus”' and said “goats are livestock,, not wives.” A meme of a pig posted in 2016 during Ramadan, the Muslim holy month, included the message “I love guns and bacon,” the organization said.

CAIR-MI did not call for Goodman’s dismissal, saying that’s a decision for Detroit Fire Department officials. But the civil rights group does want the DFD to update its policies on nondiscrimination and possibly offer sensitivity training to its employees.

Detroit Fire Department photo