Federal lawsuit raises questions about culture at prior job of Minneapolis mayor’s nominee for fire chief

A federal lawsuit raises questions about the culture at a prior job of Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey’s nominee for fire chief.

In those court documents, there are allegations of harassment and discrimination in an East Coast fire department during Reginald Freeman’s time there as chief.

The city is not commenting on this lawsuit, saying it was filed several years ago, doesn’t mention Freeman and concerns allegations involving a different city and state.

Mayor Frey had high praise for Freeman as he announced him as his choice for the chief’s position in May.

Frey nominates Reginald Freeman to be next Minneapolis fire chief

“The kind of leadership that he brings to the table is second to none,” the mayor declared at the time.

But a 2022 lawsuit raises questions about Freeman’s time as fire chief in Hartford, Connecticut.

“It should always be an open process,” says Paul Ostrow, a former Minneapolis City Council president. “It should always be one where the legislative body has the information they need to properly vet the executive’s appointment.”

Two female firefighters filed that federal lawsuit against the City of Hartford, saying they were “harassed and discriminated against by their employer because of their sex and/or race.”  

The document also says, “nearly every female who rose to the ranks of lieutenant or higher either filed an internal complaint of harassment and discrimination — or tragically, surrendered their promotion in order to avoid the hostility of the executive-level fire chiefs.”

It doesn’t mention Freeman specifically or accuse him of any wrongdoing.

But the lawsuit includes allegations of mistreatment while he was leading the department between 2016 and 2021.

We asked Ostrow: “Is it reasonable to say that the chief, the fire chief, would have known about this?”

“I think it’s reasonable to conclude that as chief, he would know about these things,” he says. “Certainly, that he should have known about these things.”

Ostrow calls the allegations “troubling.”

The nomination is now set for a public hearing next week.

We wondered if all of this should be part of the discussion.

“It should be,” Ostrow says. “The most important question I would ask, number one: ‘Was this disclosed to the mayor or the search team?’”

5 EYEWITNESS NEWS spoke with the mayor’s office late Wednesday night.

They told us again they’re not commenting on the lawsuit.

We’re still working to get a comment from Freeman himself.