 |
| Bonnie Bleskachek |
A fifth firefighter has filed a lawsuit against embattled Minneapolis Fire Chief Bonnie Bleskachek, alleging defamation, violations of data privacy and discrimination.
The Pioneer Press reports that the suit was filed Thursday in Hennepin County District Court by Shanna Hanson, who has been with the Fire Department for 15 years -- the last six as a captain. Her suit also names the city as a defendant.
According to Pioneer Press, Hanson claims that Bleskachek said during an interview on Minnesota Public Radio in October that Hanson had a fight with another captain, Kristina Lemon, at a fire scene in February 2005.
Hanson was suspended for one day without pay.
The lawsuit claims that the suspension was "attributable to the fact that Bleskachek previously had a personal intimate relationship with" Lemon.
Hanson's lawyer, Marshall Tanick, told the Pioneer Press that Bleskachek wrote in an April 2005 document detailing Hanson's suspension that no such fight took place.
"Hanson and Captain Lemon did both participate in a confrontation and conflict ... but the evidence and testimony do not support a finding that a fight or physical assault took place," Bleskachek wrote, reports the Pioneer Press.
Two lawsuits filed against Bleskachek by female firefighters were settled in October. A third suit, filed by Lemon -- who accused Bleskachek of discrimination and harassment -- is close to settlement. A fourth was filed last month by firefighter Elondo Wright.
The fate of Bleskachek will drag on for at least another week since a city committee delayed taking any action Wednesday, reports the Minneapolis Star Tribune.
The city's Executive Committee, which includes Mayor R.T. Rybak and four City Council members, emerged from a two-hour, closed-door meeting without a decision, continuing to weigh its options on how to remove Bleskachek, reports the Star Tribune.
Bleskachek, who was given a two-year extension in January, has been on a voluntary paid leave since March as the city investigates allegations of sexual harassment and discrimination against firefighters. She has said she did nothing wrong.
