Atlanta Fire Chief Files Complaint Claiming to Have Been Discriminated Against for Religion

Amanda Casanova | ChristianHeadlines.com Contributor | Updated: Jan 23, 2015

Atlanta Fire Chief Files Complaint Claiming to Have Been Discriminated Against for Religion

A complaint has been filed with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission about the firing of former Atlanta fire chief Kelvin Cochran.

Mayor Kasim Reed fired Cochran earlier this month after the mayor found out about Cochran’s self-published book, where he calls homosexuality “sexual perversion.”

Cochran’s lawyer calls the firing an “unjust termination.”

“Allied attorney Jonathan Crumly filed an EEOC complaint on behalf of Chief Cochran yesterday based on the City’s clear religious discrimination against the Chief,” read a statement issued to The Blaze by Alliance Defending Freedom senior counsel Jeremy Tedesco. ”Americans are guaranteed the freedom to live without fear of losing their jobs because of their beliefs and thoughts.”

Cohran worked as the fire chief in Atlanta for five years. In November 2014, he was suspended while the city investigated whether Cochran had discriminated against his co-workers. No instances were found.

“I was informed that all City employees interviewed in the investigation were asked if my faith influenced my leadership style. All employees responded that it did,” he wrote in the complaint. “I was informed that since my faith influenced my leadership style, as well as other issues concerning my book, I was given a choice to resign or be terminated.”

The controversy comes from Cohran’s book, “Who Told You That You Are Naked?”

“The book expresses my deeply held religious convictions on many subjects,” Conchran said. “I believe that I have been discriminated against because of my religion — Christian — in violation of Title Vll of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended.”

Publication date: January 23, 2015



Atlanta Fire Chief Files Complaint Claiming to Have Been Discriminated Against for Religion