When Sacramento city firefighter Waris Gildersleeve heard that his colleague Desmond Lewis was resigning, he knew it would have an impact. That’s because Gildersleeve and Lewis were part of the 2.4% of the department that is African American, a perplexing distinction within a force that’s more than 580 firefighters strong. When representation is that off-kilter in one of the most diverse cities in the nation, even a single resignation has ripple effects.
Now, Gildersleeve has also resigned from being a firefighter, though he’s still employed as a fire inspector. A 15-year veteran of the department, Gildersleeve says the reason he no longer wanted to be working in station houses involves the same worries Lewis had when he put in his papers: Some Captain-level supervisors don’t address bullying, harassment, racist remarks or extreme unprofessionalism. And in certain cases, according to Gildersleeve, Lewis and others, they’re personally involved in the behavior.