Wilmington will pay $75,000 to five firefighters who allege they experienced race-based discrimination from former Fire Chief Anthony Goode, the city announced Friday.
Firefighters claim they were harassed in connection with residency review investigations that were conducted by the department last year, the city said.
The charges included "serious allegations of substantial misconduct" by Goode and were being investigated by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the city said. Wilmington agreed to "resolve the charges" from firefighters Jonathan Hitch, Stephen Sherlock, Adam Risden, James Grieco and Thomas Cunningham, the city said. "After extensive discussions, the City, the firefighters and the EEOC reached a consensus this week to resolve the complaints against the former Chief, determining that such a settlement would be in the best interest of the City and the Fire Department," the city said in a news release.