YOUNGSTOWN — Two Youngstown firefighters voluntarily dropped a defamation lawsuit against Jamael Tito Brown, the former mayor, for remarks he made to The Vindicator characterizing them as being racist and making other disparaging statements — but the matter likely isn’t finished.

That is because the lawsuit filed by Jon Racco and Jordan Thomas, the firefighters’ union president and vice president, respectively, until Jan. 1, 2025, was dismissed “without prejudice,” meaning it can be refiled.

The lawsuit, filed Sept. 25 in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court, cited an Oct. 11, 2024, article in The Vindicator, and republished in subsequent articles, in which Brown spoke about racial remarks made toward the two by then fire Chief Barry Finley. Brown defended Finley saying the white union officials don’t recognize they are being racist toward the chief. Finley and Brown are black.

In the lawsuit, Stuart Torch, the attorney for Racco and Thomas, wrote: “Brown acted with actual malice, bad faith, in a reckless manner and / or in wanton disregard of plaintiffs’ rights or the lack of veracity of the false statements he published, and thus is liable to the plaintiff for damages, including punitive damages.”

It adds that “as a direct and proximate consequence of Mayor Brown’s unlawful actions” the two firefighters “suffered emotional distress and humiliation and have been otherwise injured. Some of all of plaintiffs’ damages will continue to accrue indefinitely into the future.”

Two investigations by the city’s law department determined Finley made racial remarks to Racco and Thomas during a Sept. 6, 2024, meeting, but he wasn’t disciplined by Brown.

Racco and Thomas said Finley called them “punk ass white boys,” and “little white (expletive),” adding the chief sought to physically intimidate them.

Finley admitted to loudly telling them, “I am so tired of you white boys constantly coming after me for no reason, and it just never stops.” When Thomas said he wasn’t racist, Finley said he responded “in a loud voice, ‘You know who always says that: a racist.”

The State Employment Relations Board on Dec. 11 ruled the city committed an unfair labor practice as a result of the incident.

A May 8 probable cause report from Robert E. Fekete, SERB’s general counsel, accused the city of “interfering with, restraining and coercing the union when it attempted to intimidate the union; making false and derogatory statements about the union leadership, baselessly accused the union leaders of racism, and refusing to bargain with the union regarding the effects of the EMS training courses on the members’ terms and conditions of employment.”

After an Aug. 20 SERB hearing, Finley sent a text to firefighters apologizing to Racco, Thomas and the fire department for his actions and to “ensure you that this sort of thing will never happen again. I’m also hoping that we as a department can set aside all the differences we have and focus on driving this department straight ahead.”

The Dec. 11 SERB ruling required the city to “refrain from yelling at union officers, making physically threatening gestures towards union officers and accusing union officers of racism during meetings and communications which specifically arise from the statutory obligations to bargain in good faith.”

There was a lengthy series of disputes between the fire union and Finley from his February 2018 appointment until his Dec. 31 departure when new Mayor Derrick McDowell chose not to retain him as chief.

In the Oct. 11, 2024, article, Brown said of the Sept. 6, 2024, incident: “It is a problem, but it’s on both sides and that’s what we want to look at. This whole work environment. We start questioning one side then we question the other side and a lot of things start coming up that we’re uncovering.”

Brown said: “There’s a relationship issue. I think there’s some racial issues there.”

Asked if it was from both sides, Brown said, “One side (the union) doesn’t see it and the other side (Finley) is feeling it and when they let it be known they want to call it that. But I think there’s some undertones because this has been going on for too long. We’re going to look at the bigger picture. This is just a symptom. There’s other bigger pieces going on.”

In response to firefighters saying they fear for their safety around Finley, Brown said, “There’s remedies to all that. No more than some of the insubordinate actions that have been taken against the chief, lack of respect towards him as the fire chief, not necessarily disrespecting his position, but looking at him as an African-American fire chief, the first fire chief, so it’s a bigger piece than just them saying their safety.”

Brown added: “There’s going to be onus from them to say this has been going on too long. I think he might be the one in a hostile work environment. We’re going to work through that.”

At the time, Racco said: “Mayor Brown’s statements and depiction of events are 100% false. They are only intended to draw attention away from the fact that he has appointed a fire chief who is unfit for his duties and that the city has repeatedly covered up his abuse.”

The lawsuit stated Racco and Thomas were “compelled to step down from their union leadership positions,” and had “difficulties at work” and “difficulties and hostility personally in the community.”