AUSTIN — A four-year investigation into the Austin Fire Department's hiring process is now over.
In a memo sent to Austins' mayor and council members Nov. 20, Interim Fire Chief Tom Dodds said the Department of Justice has concluded that there was no purposeful discrimination on the part of the Austin Fire Department.
Four years ago, AFD was accused of making it harder for African Americans and Hispanics to get hired. Austin Fire management, the city management, the law department and the DOJ agreed that the department "never had any intent to disadvantage African-American or Hispanic candidates in our hiring process," the memo said.
"However, we recognized based on the statistical results from DOJ’s investigation that we could improve how we conduct our hiring to make sure we are hiring all of the very best firefighters – regardless of race or national origin," the memo read. "Complying with the consent decree has been highly complex and challenging, but we honestly believe it has improved our hiring process and thus made us a better Department.
The AFD said that since November 2014, 21 black and 67 Hispanic firefighters have graduated among a total of 261 firefighters.