A black firefighter who endured countless racial jokes and racist slurs over his nearly 30-year career with the Los Angeles Fire Department was awarded $1.1 million by a jury on Monday, the Los Angeles Times reports.
It took the jury 16 days to decide in favor of Jabari S. Jumaane, who had filed charges against the department six years ago, alleging racial discrimination, harassment and retaliation. Then a jury ruled against him. A judge overturned the original jury's ruling after a juror claimed to "have witnessed racially motivated misconduct by fellow jurors," the Los Angeles Times reports.
The retrial was a vindication for Jumaane, who worked with the department for more than 27 years.
"I think the evidence speaks for itself," he said. "The evidence beckoned for the verdict the jury found."
His attorney, Nana Gyamfi, said the verdict was long in coming.
"It's more than just a sense of gratitude; it's a sense of vindication," she told the Los Angles Times. "As he said during the trial when he was questioned by the defense, all he was looking for was for some reasonable people to take a look at his situation and recognize the injustice within it. And that's what happened."
Read more at the Los Angeles Times.