The son of Utica Fire Chief Russell Brooks has filed a federal civil complaint against the City of Utica alleging the city violated federal and state anti-discrimination laws. On Dec. 2, John Brooks filed the federal civil complaint saying he was subjected to a hostile work environment at the Utica Fire Department — where he has been employed as a firefighter-paramedic since 2006 — because he requested an accommodation as a practicing Nazirite. A Nazirite is a person who vows to abstain from alcohol, avoid defilement by contact with corpses and does not cut their hair, according to the complaint.