Former Atlanta Fire Chief Kelvin Cochran is attempting to sue the city of Atlanta as well as Mayor Kasim Reed, according to a Feb. 18 release sent to The Signal by the Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF).
ADF is the attorney group representing Cochran as he sues to overturn Reed’s decision to terminate him, according to the organization’s legal complaint.
Reed announced Cochran’s termination Jan. 6 following the distribution of his self-help book “Who Told You That You Were Naked?” which contained principles that condemned homosexual acts as “unclean.”
The controversy surrounding Cochran’s firing yielded a petition created by the American Family Association (AFA), which logged nearly 75,000 signatures supporting the reinstatement of Cochran as fire chief.
If Cochran wins the lawsuit, he will reclaim the seat as Atlanta Fire Chief and claim compensatory damages for lost wages, cost to find new employment, humiliation and emotional distress, inconvenience and the damage to his reputation caused by the city, according to the complaint.
Senior Legal Counselman for ADF Jeremy Tedesco said Cochran believes he was fired for the expression of his Christian faith.
“Whatever the city might now say doesn’t erase that the city publicly admitted that it fired the well-respected fire chief for his beliefs – an act that is illegal,” he said.
Cochran said this turn of events has devastated and confused him, according to files sent to The Signal by ADF.
“To actually lose my childhood dream come true profession where all of my expectations had been greatly exceeded over my faith, the very faith that caused me to get my job, ultimately has cost me my job,” he said.
However, a spokesperson from the mayor’s office said Cochran’s religious choices were not a deciding factor when determining his consequences.
“Mr. Cochran states that he was told his faith influenced his leadership style and that this was the reason for his termination,” she said. “What he was actually told was that his distribution of a book about his beliefs within his department had caused his employees to question his ability to continue to lead a diverse workforce.”
The spokesperson also said Cochran’s actions had warranted negative attention which led to his firing.
“The religious nature of his book is not the reason he is no longer employed by the City of Atlanta,” she said.
“The totality of his conduct — including the way he handled himself during his suspension after he agreed not to make public comments during the investigation — reflected poor judgment and failure to follow clearly defined work protocols.”
Cochran should feel free to distribute such works to those at the workplace, according to Tedesco.
“Government employees have a well-established right to distribute literature at work to willing recipients, including religious literature,” he said. “The city cannot punish Cochran for exercising this right.”
Tedesco also said Cochran should not need to consult the mayor prior to distributing his personal work.
“There is no city policy that requires mayoral approval before city employees can publish a book on their own time and even if such a policy existed, it would be unconstitutional,” he said.
However, Cochran did not receive the requisite approval from the city’s ethics office prior to publishing the literature, according to the spokesperson.
“Although Mr. Cochran continues to claim that the City Ethics Officer authorized his publication of the book, that claim is as untruthful today as it was when first uttered,” she said. “Mr. Cochran was informed at the time of his suspension that he had failed to follow the City Code in seeking to engage in an outside income-producing venture… he was espousing theories about certain groups of people that were in conflict with the City’s non-discrimination policy,”
Still Tedesco said Reed had voiced his disagreement with the content in Cochran’s book which he said proves the city’s bias.
“The reality is the mayor, when he suspended [Cochran] without pay for 30 days, came out and said that he profoundly disagreed with and was deeply disturbed by what Chief Cochran wrote in his book, and that was the reason given for the initial suspension,” he said.
Tedesco also said Cochran had been forgiven for any offense he caused yet Reed would not pardon him due to the difference in their beliefs.
“Despite being completely exonerated over concerns related to his conduct and how he treats people, the city fired him anyways,” he said. “… And that just goes to show that they fired him for one thing and that is that he held the wrong beliefs according to the city.”
Despite his firm stance against homosexuality and its practices, Cochran said U.S. citizens should all be afforded the same rights without repercussion, according to a recording sent to The Signal from ADF.
“All Americans are guaranteed the freedom of actually believing and thinking in such a way that does not cost them the consequences that I have experienced in this termination,” he said.
Tedesco said he and Cochran are aware of the fire department’s LGBT liaison outreach being implemented by Interim Fire Chief Joel Baker and they are confident Baker will continue to exhibit cultural tolerance as Cochran did.
“We have seen the media reports and wish the new fire chief nothing but the best as he continues Chief Cochran’s high standard of treating everyone with dignity, respect and equity,” he said.
