Carole LaCroix of East Haven sued the city because she claimed her constitutional rights were violated when she was suspended for six months without pay, ordered to apologize and to complete a diversity training program.

LaCroix, who is white, said dyslexia caused her to twice use the word “nigger” instead of “Negro” while addressing representatives from local charities.

The incident occurred Oct. 14, 2003, while LaCroix was reading a statement about the United Negro College Fund to charity representatives touring the firehouse.

According to the court ruling, the assembled firefighters and charity officials thought they heard LaCroix say “United Nigger College Fund.” When she was asked to repeat what she had said, she enunciated the identical phrase, the court document added.

After one of the firefighters called LaCroix a racist, she reportedly explained she “didn’t mean to do it,” but that she had friends who use the word and she “thought it was OK.”

The Board of Fire Commissioners subsequently disciplined her for violating department rules prohibiting disrespectful language, conduct prejudicial to the department’s good name and showing racial prejudice toward another department employee.

But in 2004, the state Board of Mediation and Arbitration ordered her reinstated with back pay, saying she appeared to have said “nigger” mistakenly as a result of her reading difficulty.

However, LaCroix charged she suffered emotional distress because publicity about her case had made her feel like “a loser and a racist.”

U.S. District Judge Janet Bond Arterton’s decision granting the city’s motion for summary judgment (closing the case) was denounced Thursday by LaCroix’s attorney, Norman Pattis.

“This was an unfortunate result for a very good woman,” he said.

“She made an innocent slip of the tongue, and they used her as a poster child for their political agenda,” he added.

Pattis said he had not yet read the court ruling, so he did not know if he has grounds to appeal it.

LaCroix could not be reached for comment.

Robert Smuts, the city’s chief administrative officer, said of the court decision, “It’s pretty clear, and today’s ruling supports that we thought the discipline we imposed was entirely reasonable when it took place.”

In her lawsuit, LaCroix claimed it was unfair that two other firefighters received far shorter suspensions for saying “nigger.” But Arterton noted Patrick Reardon, who was suspended for five days, used the word while sitting at a table with co-workers in the firehouse. About a month later, she noted, Jack Ryan, who was suspended for 10 days, spelled out the word while asking co-workers why, in his view, it’s permissible for African-Americans to use the word, but not whites.

Arterton ruled LaCroix’s actions could not be equated with those of Reardon and Ryan because she spoke in front of the public.

Randall Beach can be reached at rbeach@nhregister.com or 789-5766.