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Florida police chief accused of minority-first approach is fired

FILE - Larry Scirotto is sworn in as the new chief of the Fort Lauderdale Police Department by Chief Judge Jack Tuter at First Baptist Fort Lauderdale on Tuesday, Aug. 24, 2021, in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Scirotto was fired by City Manager Chris Lagerbloom on Thursday, March 3, 2022. The complaints centered on allegations that Scirotto made hiring and promotion decisions with an improper minority-first approach. (Amy Beth Bennett/South Florida Sun-Sentinel via AP, File)

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — A Florida police chief has been fired after only about six months on the job following an investigation into several discrimination complaints.

A city of Fort Lauderdale news release says Chief Larry Scirotto was fired by City Manager Chris Lagerbloom on Thursday.


The complaints centered on allegations that Scirotto made hiring and promotion decisions with an improper minority-first approach.

Scirotto was the first openly gay chief hired in Fort Lauderdale and also is from a mixed-race background.

An investigation into the bias complaints concluded that Scirotto was unfairly focused on minority candidates for jobs and that he once said a conference room wall of photos was “too white.”