YOUNGSTOWN Former Youngstown Professional Firefighters Union Local 312 President Jon Racco and Vice President Jordan Thomas have sued Youngstown Mayor Tito Brown in connection with claims of racism from Youngstown Fire Chief Barry Finley.

The allegations in question stem from a meeting held in September of 2024 with Racco, Thomas and Finley in attendance.

It is alleged that during this meeting, Chief Finley made racist remarks towards Racco and Thomas, allegedly calling them "punk *** white boys" and "little white b*****s," and saying he was "tired of you white boys."

The suit further alleges that Finley accused Racco and Thomas of being racist towards him, and when Thomas denied those claims, Finley allegedly responded, "You know who always says that? A racist."

The suit goes on to accuse Mayor Brown of providing statements to local news outlets characterizing Finley as the victim and Racco and Thomas as aggressors towards Finley.

"Mayor Brown's statements, which were published to the entire community in which [Racco and Thomas] work, ... were false and defamatory, causing [them] to experience harm to their reputations and professional relationships, as well as public hatred, contempt, ridicule, shame and/or disgrace," the suit reads.

Racco and Thomas are demanding damages for emotional pain and suffering, loss of professional standing and harm to their reputation, as well as punitive damages, attorney fees and costs, prejudgment and postjudgment interest and any other relief deemed appropriate in this matter.

You can read much more about the tensions between the fire union and Finley in our related coverage below.

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