Ex-LR firefighter files suit over firing

Terminated for disability, he claims

A former Little Rock firefighter is suing the city alleging he was wrongly fired and discriminated against because he is autistic, according to court documents.

Austin Armstrong was hired in March 2019 and was let go nine months later, said his lawyer, Robert Newcomb. Armstrong seeks reinstatement, back pay and damages for the emotional toll he said he has suffered since his firing.

A lawsuit was filed last week in U.S. District Court in Little Rock. In it, Newcomb described how Armstrong was ridiculed by his supervisor and fellow firefighters during his brief employment with the department.

Armstrong’s trouble began after he requested being transferred to a different captain because the one supervising him had discriminated against him, the lawsuit stated.

“[His] Captain claimed that he could not perform the job, which was a false statement made because of the Captain’s view toward the disability of Autism,” Newcomb wrote.

The name of the captain was not disclosed in court documents. The city of Little Rock is the only defendant named in the lawsuit.

While assigned to Station 9, derogatory comments were made to Armstrong by co-workers and supervisors, according to the lawsuit. At one point, he was referred to as “Private Pyle,” a reference to a slow, troubled character in the movie “Full Metal Jacket,” Newcomb stated.

Newcomb declined to discuss any specifics of the case when contacted by phone Wednesday, saying everything was “laid out” in the court filing.

Lamor Williams, the city’s spokesman, told the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette on Wednesday that the city has been cleared of Equal Employment Opportunity Commission violations.

Williams declined to elaborate further, saying the city

“does not comment on pending litigation or personnel matters.”

In his lawsuit, Armstrong gave several specific examples alleging mistreatment by his peers. He stated the Americans with Disabilities paperwork he submitted to the city’s human resources department was at one point “passed around his fire station” and read by non-supervisors.

Some of Armstrong’s fellow firefighters would say out loud that they wouldn’t take Armstrong hunting with them “because he could not be trusted with a gun,” Newcomb wrote.

Armstrong also alleges in the lawsuit that his captain would tell him to his face, “I hate you.”

Newcomb stated that Armstrong was fired because he was disabled, which he called a “violation” of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. He wrote that the city was aware that Armstrong was autistic when he was fired.

Armstrong’s requests for a transfer were denied by the city, while other requests made by other probationary firefighters were granted, Newcomb wrote.

Armstrong was told his employment was terminated based on job performance, but Newcomb said his performance was “satisfactory” and pointed out that Armstrong passed every test and completed all of the required training.