News

By Jane Smith

A retired deputy fire chief in Boynton Beach has sued the city after her face was altered in a mural displayed briefly last June in the new Town Square fire station.
Latosha Clemons was the city’s first Black woman to be deputy fire chief. Her boss, Glenn Joseph, was the city’s second Black fire chief. Both of their faces were whitewashed to render them indistinguishable.
They were part of the Community Heartbeat mural, a collage of firefighters in action and at city events with a red heartbeat line running through it.
Clemons, 48, retired on March 1, 2020, after nearly 24 years of service with the city.
A Boynton Beach native, she filed the lawsuit April 9 against her former employer, claiming defamation and negligence.
The city does not comment on open lawsuits, city spokeswoman Eleanor Krusell wrote April 22 in response to a question from The Coastal Star.
City Manager Lori LaVerriere, in a public statement issued June 4, said: “I sincerely apologize this occurred and will take every measure necessary to ensure this never happens again.
“Please understand that this unfortunate incident is not indicative of our values.”
On June 6, LaVerriere fired the public arts manager and removed the fire chief as part of her investigation into how the mural became altered.
The new mural with Clemons’ face was revealed in early November.
Joseph was removed from the revised mural at his request. He did not want to be in the mural because he had worked for Boynton Beach for only a few years before retiring.