By Jake Wagman
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
ST. LOUIS — While supporters of Fire Chief Sherman George turn up the heat on City Hall, the chief is taking his case up the legal ladder.
The chief's lawyer, Tom Blumenthal, filed a motion Monday in the state Court of Appeals, asking the court to overturn an earlier ruling and allow George to continue his hold on promotions.
George is in trouble with the city for ignoring an ultimatum to fill more than two dozen vacancies in the department.
On Friday, Circuit Court Judge John F. Garvey rejected a motion to prevent the city from punishing the chief. Hours later, the mayor's office announced that disciplinary proceedings would begin as soon as this week.
Under the civil service code, George can be suspended, demoted or even fired.
In an attempt to avoid that, Blumenthal has brought his argument to the appellate court, which is one step below the Missouri Supreme Court. The city, Blumenthal argues, is unlawfully trying to "coerce" George to make promotions that, under the city charter, only he is authorized to make.
Blumenthal says that the order from George's boss, the city's public safety director, is illegal and should not be followed.
"In other words," Blumenthal said, "I can tell you that you have to take a gun and shoot a guy, but there is no reason you have to follow it — it's an irrational command."
The dispute stems from a 2004 federal suit alleging that tests to determine candidates for the ranks of captain and battalion chief were biased against African-Americans.
After a prolonged court battle, a U.S. District Court judge in May ruled against the black firefighters who filed the lawsuit.
The chief, though, has refused to promote anyone, despite increasing pressure from the mayor's office.
George has questioned the effectiveness of the tests and complained that his recommendations for alternative methods — ones that he said would avoid accusations of bias — were ignored.
The controversy continues to stir racial tension among those who see the looming action against George, the department's first African-American chief, as an affront to black people.
"The racial divide is going to be made worse by what City Hall is doing," said the Rev. Douglas M. Parham, president of the St. Louis Clergy Coalition, at a news conference Monday. He called the city's treatment of George an injustice.
In response, Charles Bryson, who was appointed public safety director earlier this month, said that there were talks going on with representatives of the chief all the way up until Friday's 5 p.m. deadline.
"The mayor has been very patient," Bryson said in a statement. "We are at the point when the promotions ought to be made."
Bryson is preparing to send a letter to the chief that will begin the disciplinary process. The chief, though, won't get the letter immediately. According to his lawyer, George was in Atlanta on Monday, helping that city interview applicants for a new fire chief.
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