Tampa will pay retired Black officer a settlement after his pension was cut

Rufus Lewis has long been celebrated as one of the Tampa Police Department's "Fearless Four," Black officers who sued the city five decades ago over its discriminatory hiring and promotional practices.

Now Lewis has reached a settlement with the city over what he claimed was a further injustice spanning decades: denial of his full pension after he was forced to retire early due to an injury.

Council members approved the $250,000 payment to Lewis on Thursday.

"The city stepped up and did something appropriate to correct some discriminatory actions that took place many years ago," said Guy Burns, Lewis' attorney.

Burns said he and Lewis approached the mayor's office around three months ago to seek an agreement — his latest in a long line of attempts to receive compensation from the city.

The measure was billed to council as a "pre-lawsuit settlement." In a statement, City Attorney Andrea Zelman said she negotiated with Burns to "reach a resolution that satisfied his interests, as well as the interests of the city in avoiding the costs of protracted litigation."

The city will not admit liability as part of the agreement. Lewis also must agree to "have no further redress or claim against The City" related to his discrimination claims.

Lewis joined the Tampa Police Department in 1967 and was later part of a group of Black officers who filed a complaint with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in 1974 against the department for discrimination. They won their suit two years later, spurring new hiring and promotion practices. Their actions are now heralded for sparking change. Lewis' portrait hangs in the lobby of police headquarters.

But despite the current accolades, Lewis said he was forced into early retirement in 1983 after a persistent leg injury three years earlier, sustained while playing on a department basketball league. The city initially categorized his injury as occurring in the line of duty, which would have qualified him for his full pension. But the pension board later disagreed and effectively cut his benefits in half.

Lewis said he believes racism was involved in the decision. One pension board member would later abruptly retire from the department to avoid being fired for using a racial slur.

Since then, Lewis has just gotten by on payments of $1,968 a month. In 1985 he sued the city and won; but the city successfully appealed.

But this time, Burns said Mayor Jane Castor was receptive to Lewis' claim.

"There was a lot of public sentiment and a lot of public goodwill toward Mr. Lewis and his claim," he said. "And we had a perceptive audience with the mayor because she believed the same thing the general community had concluded."

Burns also credited a series of stories by the Tampa Bay Times. The first reported on Lewis' plight in February , and later covered the growing calls for action from community members .

"This is one of those times where the newspaper brought some public attention for the good," Burns said. "That was a piece of the puzzle that caused there to be a change and a remedy."

The mayor's office cannot change the decisions of the pension board or control its funds. The settlement money will instead come from a city insurance fund.

"Rufus Lewis has done so much to better Tampa," Mayor Jane Castor said in a statement. "He is an extraordinary person, and if it were up to me — it wasn't — I would have awarded him his full pension. This settlement ensures that Tampa does right by Rufus and our entire community."

Burns said Lewis, who declined to comment directly, was thankful to be "a little better off than he was yesterday," particularly after sustaining damage to his home in recent hurricanes. But he added that the settlement does not make him "financially whole," after four decades of distress.

"Mr. Lewis not only suffered a financial loss, but there was also an emotional loss regarding his self-esteem and dignity," he said. "He was not given what he felt was his just and full due."