Houston's mayor insists the city is not enforcing liens against the families of fallen firefighters, but the union says the legal paperwork has never been filed.
It was revealed several months ago that the former Parker administration was seeking to recoup medical expenses from the families of firefighters killed in the Southwest Inn fire five years ago, if they received any settlement from lawsuits filed against Motorola over claims of a poor radio system.
“The city is the one that has the contract with Motorola, so if the city really has a problem, maybe they should look at their contract, they're the ones that hired them,” says Marty Lancton, president of the Houston Fire Fighters Association.
“If the mayor truly meant what he said, he would not put the families through this any longer,” he says. “No more games, send over a release so the families can move on.”
Mayor Sylvester Turner's office issued a statement saying it has waived its attempt to collect from those lawsuits.
“He continues to play legal games in what we believe is a personal and, or political vendetta against the firefighters' attorney Ben Hall,” says Lancton.