Firefighter on unpaid leave after documents show he went on racist rant while on business trip last year

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    Portland, OR (KPTV) — A Portland firefighter is on leave after documents show he went on a racist rant while on a business trip last year.

In documents provided to FOX 12 by Portland Fire & Rescue, Nick Perkins was participating in a training event last August paid for by the fire bureau.

On the first night of the trip, documents detail that Perkins got too intoxicated and tried entering the hotel in the early morning hours with his credit card instead of his room key.

After his failed attempt to get into the hotel, the clerk working at the time, a Black woman, spoke to him through the front door’s phone. The documents show she asked Perkins for his name and room number and he responded – calling the woman racial slurs.

The documents provided go on to detail what happened next – claiming Perkins continued to beat and kick the hotel door in an attempt to get in and hotel management called the Nashville Metro Police. Perkins was then flown home.

Documents show that six months later at a due process meeting, Perkins apologized for his actions and expressed remorse.

According to those documents, the President of the Portland Firefighters Association, Alan Ferschweiler, said he was concerned. He said there were inconsistencies with the report, that no video exists and he’s quote “not convinced this incident even happened.”

Portland Fire did a follow up investigation in response to Ferschweiler’s concerns and found all the information in the initial report was accurate.

Portland Fire Chief Sara Boone said Perkins’ actions “grossly contradict the bureau’s core values” and were “simply unacceptable.”

Boone released a statement in response to this incident.

Boone signed off on Perkins’ six month suspension without pay.

FOX 12 also received a statement from Ferschweiler.

Perkins also had to sign a “last chance agreement” in which he acknowledges several terms he must meet to remain employed.

According to documents, this includes agreeing to attending one-on-one implicit bias training and donate $5,000 to one of these non-profits by June 30, 2021: Urban League, Momentum Alliance or Sunrise Movement.

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