Mississippi Fire Department Sued for $2.5 Million Over Dreadlocks

An applicant to the Gulfport Fire Department who was told he would have to cut his dreadlocks before he could start last year, has filed suit claiming race discrimination.

Larry Christmas Jr. claims he passed the written and agility tests necessary to start the Gulfport Fire Department in February 2015, but was ordered to cut his dreadlocks before he could proceed to a physical exam and an orientation session. Christmas, who is African American, filed suit in federal court claiming the city’s position on dreadlocks constitutes race discrimination.

The suit was filed by Christmas pro se (without an attorney) last December, and was amended earlier this month. The original complaint named the city, but the amended complaint names the city and Fire Chief Michael Beyerstedt. Both pleadings appear to allege race discrimination, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and negligent infliction of emotional distress, although they could certainly benefit from guidance from an attorney.

Here is a copy of the original complaint: Christmas v Gulfport ORIGINAL

Here is a copy of the amendment complaint: Christmas v Gulfport Amended

In an interview with Christmas, he claims he was passed over for an earlier hiring with Gulfport FD even though he had “aced” the examination and done “drastically well”. He said after his oral interview he was told “They never had an interview of such.”

Here is a link to the video. I was not able to embed it.

The suit seeks $500,000 in compensatory damages and $2 million in punitive damages.