City of Rochester settles with former firefighter over racist party

ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WROC) — The City of Rochester has reached a settlement with Jerrod Jones, the former RFD firefighter who sued after he was taken to a racist mock Juneteenth party while on the job in 2022.

Jones had been with the fire department for 14 years when he said, on July 7 2022, Captain Jeffrey Krywy forced him and two other subordinates to accompany him to a private party during their shift.

The party, at the home of Dr. Nicholas Nicosia and his wife Mary, was allegedly stocked with buckets of KFC chicken alongside Juneteenth flags, a large cutout of former President Donald Trump, a woman in a red wig impersonating Monroe County Legislator Rachel Barnhart, and photos of other Democratic politicians and Rochester Police Accountability Board members on stakes planted throughout the backyard.

The Nicosias gave a press conference after the allegations were made public, claiming they were not racist and that the party was instead about “liberal bashing.” Mary Nicosia did admit to running a racist Twitter account, but blamed that on “Twitter culture.”

The Nicosias lost their positions on a number of local boards in the wake of the allegations, including the Highland Hospital Board of Directors and the Landmark Society. An internal investigation determined Krywy would be forced to leave the RFD. He chose to retire before that could happen.

According to a joint statement from Jones and the City of Rochester, Jones has chosen not to return to the fire department.

The details of the settlement have not been made public.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

Full joint statement from Jerrod Jones at the City of Rochester

On July 7, 2022, Jerrod Jones was a Firefighter working Truck #4 for the Rochester Fire Department.

On that day, he and other firefighters on Truck #4 were taken to a private event at a residence on East Avenue, in accordance with the wishes and direction of the newly assigned Captain of Truck #4. While this event was within Truck# 4’s district, it was wholly inappropriate for the Captain to have taken the firefighters of Truck #4 to this event on-duty. This event involved wholly inappropriate political and racial overtones.

Following this event, Firefighter Jones commenced suit against the City of Rochester asserting various claims stemming from this incident. Today the parties are pleased to announce that this lawsuit has been resolved to the mutual satisfaction of the parties.

As part of this resolution, Mr. Jones has elected not to return to his duties as a firefighter. This was Mr. Jones’s decision and the City is respectful of his choice. The City wishes Mr. Jones the very best in his future endeavors and thanks him for his years of service to the City and its citizens.

The parties express their appreciation to each other for their respective efforts which led to this mutually satisfactory settlement as Mr. Jones moves forward positively and so too does the Rochester Fire Department under the leadership and direction of Chief Napolitano.

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