Trigger Warning: Mentions details of racism.
Racist instances have been a long-standing concern across all sectors of society. They can happen to a community or an individual, regardless of their achievements, and what’s shocking is that in most complaints against casual racism, justice seems like a long and bumpy road.
In recent news, a man named Patrick Thomas has filed a lawsuit alleging that the Bloomfield Fire Department, New Jersey did nothing to discipline or stop a white colleague who repeatedly targeted him with racist slurs.
Thomas is seeking $25 million in damages, as he claims that firefighter Walter Coffey made racial remarks in front of other Black firefighters. As per The Atlanta Black Star, Patrick Thomas claims that his colleague used the N-word and insulted him. According to the complaint, there were two incidents in November 2023.
First, on the 8th of the month, during a rope-training session, Coffey allegedly told Thomas, “Thomas, there is a noose upstairs on the table, did you see it?
A week later, Coffey reportedly tied a hangman’s noose in the middle of another training session, tossed it toward Thomas, and said, “I want you to figure out what kind of knot this is.” Thomas responded, “I know exactly what this is… This is what people used to hang my ancestors from trees. You think this is funny?”
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Meanwhile, CCTV footage reportedly proves that Thomas was right. At the time of the harassment, only four of the department’s 80 firefighters were Black. These remarks caused the victim significant emotional and psychological trauma, as Coffey said those words in front of other people.
The news outlet reports that Walter Coffey has been employed with the fire department since 2000, but he is currently on unpaid suspension while awaiting possible termination. As the incident made it to the news, prosecutors charged Coffey with bias intimidation in December 2023.
He was admitted to a pre-trial intervention program that could eventually erase the charges from his record. However, the possibility was unfair and disappointing for Patrick Thomas, who had already suffered so much humiliation.
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“I think there should have been jail time,” Thomas told WNBC. “If he does everything right, it’s like it never even happened.” Furthermore, the Bloomfield Fire Department launched a probe into the matter, but the inquiry resumed in May 2025, and Thomas’s lawsuit says it still has no conclusion.
As Thomas seeks damages for emotional distress, financial loss, and other damages, Bloomfield Mayor Jenny Mundell stated on Facebook, reaffirming the town’s “zero tolerance stance” on racism. Thomas still feels that the abusive incident went unchecked by the department, and justice wasn’t served the right way.
As per data from the Pew Research Center, Black Americans make up 13% of the U.S. workforce, but their representation is much higher in various fields. Forty-one percent of Black workers said they’ve been mistreated in hiring, pay, or promotions due to their race, compared to 25% of Asian workers, 20% of Hispanic workers, and 8% of White workers.
