A Kansas City battalion chief said leaders failed to act after racist slurs, then retaliated with audits, a sudden transfer and a pulled promotion, despite his decorated service

By Caroline Zimmerman
The Kansas City Star

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A Kansas City firefighter is suing the city, claiming the fire department allegedly failed to investigate his racial discrimination complaint, which led to him experiencing retaliation, according to court documents.

Todd Covington, a Kansas City Fire Department battalion chief, is seeking unspecified monetary damages for allegations of race discrimination and retaliation, according to a Jackson County court petition.

In April 2024, a captain only referred to as “Captain Seymour” in the lawsuit allegedly referred to Covington, a member of the Choctaw tribe and a former Navy SEAL, as a “red a**,” and told other employees he was “going to get that Injun b******,” according to the petition.

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Additionally, Seymour said he was “going to hang that blanket a**,” the petition said. He also reportedly falsely told other employees that Covington was being investigated by the FBI for embezzlement, and “that there were pictures of him doing cocaine on a boat and with strippers,” according to the lawsuit.

Covington filed an equal employment opportunity complaint in June, according to the lawsuit. In July, Covington had a meeting with KCFD Deputy Chief Matt Newton and deputy director Jean Young, in which he expressed he felt targeted for “numerous unfounded investigations,” the lawsuit said.

The lawsuit claims that despite being “required reporters,” both Newton and Young failed to report Covington’s discrimination complaint.

As a result of Covington’s complaint, the petition claims he was subject to retaliatory conduct that included a two-year “look back” investigation into the man’s overtime hours, resulting in Covington being the only employee in the department asked to submit formal, written requests for overtime and eventually transferring him without notice.

Covington claims he is the only person in the department to have an audit performed in regard to overtime hours, the petition said.

Additionally, Covington was never given a due performance appraisal and raise as required by the Kansas City Charter and Kansas City, Missouri, human resources manual, according to the lawsuit.

After Covington was transferred to a new battalion, Matt Newton “re-opened investigations that had been closed by then Assistant Fire Chief James Walker and entered previously closed investigations into evidence,” according to the petition.

In an email on May 7, 2025, Covington expressed interest in a battalion chief position that had just opened, according to the lawsuit. He was the only person who expressed interest and met the qualifications for the position, the lawsuit claims.

The petition said the position was retracted on May 13, 2025. Covington never received an interview.

In the lawsuit, Covington alleges that as a result of the discriminatory and retaliatory actions, he has lost over $12,000 in base salary pay and has seen a reduction of $23.66 in his overtime pay rate.

Covington was previously recognized as a hero in a resolution passed by the Kansas City Council after he and a fellow Kansas City firefighter helped save multiple people from a derailed Amtrak train in 2022 in Mendon, Missouri, where Covington was nearly crushed to death.

Nearly a year later, while in Washington, D.C. to receive recognition from U.S. Rep. Sam Graves, Missouri’s 6th Congressional District representative, for his actions in the Mendon Amtrak crash, Covington saved a man from choking at a Washington Nationals baseball game.

In an email to The Star Monday, KCFD media relations spokesperson Chief Michael Hopkins said the department “cannot comment on ongoing legal matters.”

Covington’s attorneys did not respond to The Star’s request for comment.

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