A former suburban Philadelphia police chief who said he was fired for being white will be paid $2.5 million in a settlement.
Anthony “Chachi” Paparo, 60, was canned as Yeadon Police Chief in February 2022. He filed a federal racial discrimination lawsuit, claiming that four members of the borough council conspired to fire him because he is white.
More than 85% of Yeadon’s 12,000 residents are Black, but Paparo was well-liked in the town. When the borough council voted to fire him, they were met with “resounding boos,” according to the Philadelphia Inquirer.
Paparo filed a federal lawsuit, claiming his firing was racially motivated.
“Residents were coming to me, various people were coming to me, and saying they’re going to fire me in January. I was like, ‘Come on now,'” Paparo told local Fox affiliate WTXF in February 2022. “Then the rumors started that they wanted a Black chief in Yeadon.”
The borough council said it fired Paparo because he violated the local police union contract to hire part-time officers during the civil unrest of 2020. The union sued and won a $387,000 fine, which was paid by the borough.
But Paparo argued that was only an excuse to get him out. Multiple local officials were prepared to testify on Paparo’s side if the case reached a trial, according to the Inquirer. Proceedings were set to begin in April, and Paparo’s lawyer told the newspaper he was “delighted to be at a stage where we can let a jury hear all the evidence.”
But the two sides agreed to a settlement on Friday, the Delaware County Daily Times reported this week.
“This case has no reflection on the great residents of the town of Yeadon,” Paparo told the Inquirer. “Their integrity and honor is still intact.”
Yeadon is located roughly 6 miles west of Philadelphia.
