Police Cadet Claims He Was Fired Due To Raspy Voice

By Anna Deem in News on Mar 14, 2010 7:00PM

Reginald Johnson of Dolton has sued the City of Evanston on the grounds that he was fired due to his overly raspy voice. On Sept. 6, 2008, Johnson was hired as a police cadet and then subsequently fired two weeks later. His lawsuit claims that the firing was a violation of the Americans With Disabilities Act.

In his lawsuit, Johnson describes the incident that lead to his firing. According to the Chicago Sun-Times:

When Evanston Police Chief Richard Eddington signed Johnson's paperwork to go to the police academy, he questioned Johnson about his raspy voice. He then told Johnson to stand in front of a building and shout commands to a trainer as the trainer walked down the street; the purpose being to see how far Johnson's voice would carry. After the test, Johnson was fired. Eddington told him it was because his voice does not project far enough.

"They just had him shout down a street," Johnson's attorney, Matthew Litvak, said Friday to the Sun-Times. "It's a subjective evaluation. There's no guideline for it." The lawsuit claims that that Johnson's firing had no "reasonable or rational" basis. "All the recruits should be tested equally," Johnson said in the suit. "If they made me go outside and holler, they should have made all the recruits go outside and holler." Johnson is asking for his job back, in addition to backpay, damages, and court costs.