A Black fire captain in southern Utah has filed a federal civil rights lawsuit alleging that his co-workers harassed him with racial slurs and that his supervisors and local officials conspired to undermine his bid to become fire chief and then fired him out of racism and in retaliation for his speaking out about cronyism in their hiring process.
In July 2021, Corey Turner started working for the Cedar Mountain Service District, which provides fire and emergency services on public and private land. He was quickly promoted from a part-time to a full-time firefighter and then to the rank of captain, all within six months.
According to his complaint, then-chief Chris Rieffer, who was hired in 2019, and his successor, Adam Scott, both gave Turner good performance reviews. But Turner says his upward career trajectory was halted due to repercussions from a traffic incident with a former fire department employee who had friends in high places in county government.
In his lawsuit, Turner describes a road rage encounter with Patrick Mahler, who was driving in front of him and slamming on his brakes, then exited his vehicle and brandished a weapon toward him. The two engaged in a heated verbal dispute, after which Turner says he called the police and reported the incident and also told his deputy chief about it.
Mahler allegedly sent edited video recordings of the incident made by a passenger in his vehicle to members of the fire district’s five-member board, including Suzy Polnisch and Kane County Commissioner Wade Heaton.
After viewing the video, Polnisch told Rieffer to fire Turner “because all she saw on the video was an ‘angry black man’ and stated that Mr. Turner ‘did not represent the District,’” the complaint says.
Polnisch also told Rieffer that Heaton was “displeased” with Turner after viewing the video.
Turner, in an interview with The Salt Lake Tribune, said that Rieffer told him about his exchange with Polnisch.
Rieffer resisted Polnisch’s demand to fire Turner over the incident, which had already been investigated by the Utah State Patrol and had filed no charges, according to the lawsuit. Rieffer and a deputy chief elected instead to have a coaching session with Turner, per the fire department’s “positive discipline system.” Turner acknowledged that he made mistakes and said it would not happen again, according to a document summarizing the session.
Turner was then promoted to fire captain, while Polnisch reportedly kept pushing for his termination.
Rieffer’s ongoing refusal to fire Turner prompted the board to buy out the fire chief’s contract, according to the lawsuit.
The board began interviewing candidates for fire chief in April of 2022. When interviewing Chad Poulsen, a fire captain, the board asked him what his thoughts and plans were for Turner and encouraged Poulsen to fire him.
Poulsen was appointed fire chief and claims that during his tenure, board members said Turner “was not a good fit” and “did not represent the community,” the complaint says.
A district fire captain, Anthony Miller, allegedly told Poulsen that he had heard an administrative assistant refer to Turner on multiple occasions as a “ni—er.”
Poulsen was fired in January of 2023 after refusing to terminate Turner, the lawsuit claims.
Poulsen recently told The Salt Lake Tribune that Polnisch became increasingly angry and frustrated over the fact Turner remained on the job.
Poulsen said the district board was “headhunting” and trying to get him to fire Turner, though he thought the fire captain was an excellent officer and a natural leader. Rather than dismiss Turner, Poulsen said he told the board that the fire captain was doing a good job.
In early 2023, Turner pursued the open fire chief position along with two other finalists for the position, Forrest Barnard and Holli Wright.
During his interview, Polnisch allegedly told Turner, “You clean up well, I didn’t know someone like you was this educated and articulate,” a statement “motivated by her prejudice toward [B]lacks,” the lawsuit says.
Barnard was hired as fire chief in February of 2023 even though Turner had more qualifications, including both state and national certifications, according to the complaint, which also notes that Barnard had previously worked as a hunting guide for Heaton, who owns Color Country Outfitters, a deer hunting business.
Turner complained to colleagues that the district was “hiring unqualified leadership” and that the district’s board was “engaged in cronyism by hiring Heaton’s hunting guides for leadership positions” rather than conducting a fair hiring process to identify the best-qualified individuals, the complaint says. He further said Barnard was only hired due to his connection to Heaton, who the lawsuit says sometimes referred to Turner as “the colored guy.”
The board got wind of Turner’s allegations and again told Barnard to fire him, he claims.
According to the lawsuit, on May 1, 2023, Barnard held a meeting with Deputy Chief Travis Flygare to discuss Turner’s termination. Flygare wanted to use progressive discipline first, to give Turner an opportunity for an administrative hearing and a chance to “make improvements.” During the meeting, Polnisch called in and pushed Barnard to fire Turner over speakerphone, according to Flygare.
After the phone call, Flygare heard Barnard say, “I can’t wait to fire this ni-er,” the complaint says.
The next day, Barnard did fire Turner and handed him a termination letter that did not include a reason for his firing. He later instructed two deputy chiefs, Wright and Flygare, to write letters describing Turner’s “prior alleged misconduct” — which the lawsuit calls “an effort to create a post hoc justification” for firing Turner —and also to state that Flygare did not hear Barnard call Turner a racial slur.
Both deputy chiefs initially complied but later took their statements back, saying they felt their jobs were threatened at the time if they didn’t do as they were told.
In April of 2024, Flygare drafted an email confirming that Barnard had said, “I can’t wait to fire that Ni—er,” and Wright wrote a new letter stating that Polnisch “did not like Turner and was constantly stating he needed to be removed from our ranks by any means necessary.”
Flygare and Wright were then demoted from deputy chiefs to their current positions as engineers “due to their reluctance to cooperate with Barnard’s threats,” the lawsuit claims.
Turner, who currently works for Santa Clara-Ivins Fire & Rescue, claims that the district violated state and federal civil rights laws by harassing and discriminating against him on the basis of his race/color, and treating him differently than white employees by not using progressive discipline.
He further alleges that his firing was due to his race and that his First Amendment rights were violated when he was terminated in part as retaliation for criticizing cronyism in the fire department’s hiring process.
Heaton, “a powerful political figure in Kane County,” pressured Polnisch and Barnard to fire him, a campaign constituting tortious interference with Turner’s livelihood and improper interference done for purely personal reasons, because Heaton “had a friendly relationship with Mahler,” the lawsuit states.
The lawsuit compounds the legal woes of Heaton and Barnard, the Salt Lake Tribune reported, as both men were indicted last August in connection with the commissioner’s ownership of Color Country Outfitters. Prosecutors allege they were involved in a pattern of illegally baiting deer for hunting purposes.
Turner seeks a jury trial and a judgment to award him legal costs, back and front pay, as well as compensatory and punitive damages against the defendants, who include Cedar Mountain Service District, Polnisch, Barnard and Heaton.
The amended answer filed by the defendants on Dec. 4 denies all of the allegations of racial discrimination and retaliation in the complaint and argues that Turner, an at-will employee, failed to establish any requisite culpability or government misconduct. It further asserts that the defendants are protected by governmental and qualified immunity.
Kristin VanOrman, attorney for the defendants, also noted that the state Labor Commission’s investigation of Turner’s complaint uncovered no wrongdoing and that the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission upheld that ruling last August, dismissing Turner’s charges.
Polnisch, who is now chair of the district board, in a written statement, defended Turner’s dismissal and praised Barnard for his leadership.
“He has brought a new level of professionalism and discipline to the department,” Polnisch stated. “He is a man of integrity who demonstrates a tireless commitment to the fire service, our district, and his staff. We are very fortunate to have him as our fire chief.”
A scheduling conference in the case is set for Jan. 13 before U.S. District Judge Ann Marie McIff Allen.
