Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey’s choice for the city’s next fire chief is already walking into a blaze. Dr. Reginald Freeman, the mayor’s nominee to lead the Minneapolis Fire Department, is being pulled into the orbit of a federal lawsuit filed in 2022 that alleges a pattern of harassment and discrimination at the Hartford Fire Department during the years he was in charge there.
The complaint, brought by two Hartford firefighters, portrays the department as a “toxic and hostile” place for women. Freeman is not named as a defendant and is not accused of personal misconduct, but the renewed attention on the lawsuit is shaping the questions that are likely to dominate the City Council’s confirmation hearing next week.
What The Federal Complaint Alleges
The 2022 federal complaint, filed by Capt. Shelly Carter and Lt. Rosemarie Cataldo, claims that female officers in the Hartford Fire Department were subjected to repeated harassment, retaliation, and barriers to promotion. According to the filing, “nearly every female who rose to the ranks of lieutenant or higher” either filed internal complaints or pulled back from promotions to avoid hostility.
The plaintiffs say internal investigations into their concerns were cursory and ineffective. The documents outline claims under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act and Connecticut state law. For those who want to dig into the legal fine print, the full allegations are contained in the federal complaint.
Vetting And Local Reaction
So far, Minneapolis officials are keeping their distance from the Hartford case in public. They have declined to comment on the filing, even as some local observers argue that the council should factor the lawsuit into its vetting of Freeman…