A veteran San Francisco firefighter who was dismissed as a 'drama queen' by the department's chief after being attacked by a colleague with a wrench has been awarded a $6 million settlement.
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who → dismiss → settlement
Gabriel Shin, 56, was attacked by fellow firefighter Robert Muhammad, with a 15-inch wrench used to open fire hydrants outside his Oakland home in February of 2022.
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Shin → attack → 2022
A lawsuit he filed in 2023 against the City and County of San Francisco has reached a settlement nearly three years later as the San Francisco Board of Supervisors approved a resolve for Shin's claims.
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Board → file → claims
The incident was first reported as an ABC 7 Exclusive, as a neighbor told police they saw a man strike Shin with a wrench across his face and both arms.
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man → report → face
Highland Hospital doctors determined that Shin 'had suffered a broken left arm, swollen right arm, and concussion as a result of the assault.'
Shin told police officials he had known Muhammad for more than 20 years while they worked together as firefighters for the City of San Francisco.
According to testimonies from other department employees, the confrontation sparked from a prior conversation Shin allegedly had about Muhammad's late daughter who had died by suicide.
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who → determine → suicide
Shin testified in court that Muhammad was upset with him and appeared to be in a mental health crisis.
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Muhammad → testify → crisis
Gabriel Shin, a veteran San Francisco firefighter has been approved for a $6 million settlement after filing a lawsuit against former San Francisco Fire Chief Jeanine Nicholson following an aggressive wrench attack.
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Shin → approve → attack
He was attacked by Robert Muhammad, a fire department colleague with a 15-inch wrench outside his Oakland home in February of 2022
According to court documents, Muhammad allegedly used a superior colleague's password to research Shin's address in the department's database before arriving at his house.
James Torres, Shin's attorney, told ABC 7 that Muhammad 'displayed acts of aggression' toward his colleagues and superiors in 'a pattern that went undocumented and unaddressed' for over a decade.
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that → attack → decade
After the lawsuit was filed, Shin reported that his health insurance was cut off and that the department stopped paying him.
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department → file → him
Shin claimed that following the attack, Muhammad was placed on paid leave where he continued to receive regular paychecks and was assigned to work at a department training facility with a cushy schedule.
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he → claim → schedule
Shin claimed the actions of his department were taken in an attempt to silence him and punish 'snitches.'
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actions → claim → snitches
He alleged that the department leadership turned against him as they continued to discourage him from pressing criminal charges.
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they → allege → charges
Although he obtained a criminal protective order against Muhammad, he said that department leaders declined his request for a workplace restraining order.
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leaders → obtain → order
Shin shared in the lawsuit how he suffered post-traumatic stress disorder but never received proper accommodations.
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he → share → accommodations
According to court documents, department leaders stopped communicating with Shin in April of 2022.
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leaders → accord → 2022
According to a text message thread revealed in court records, San Francisco Fire Chief Jeanine Nicholson referred to Shin as a 'drama queen' in response to his allegations.
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Nicholson → accord → allegations
Shin told police officials he had known Muhammad for more than 20 years while they worked together as firefighters for the City of San Francisco.
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they → tell → Francisco
According to testimonies from other department employees, the confrontation sparked from a prior conversation Shin allegedly had about Muhammad's late daughter who passed away by suicide
Shin claimed the actions of his department were taken in attempt to silence him and punish 'snitches.'
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actions → accord → snitches
He alleged that the department leadership turned against him as they continued to discourage him from pressing criminal charges.
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they → allege → charges
The San Francisco Chronicle reported that Nicholson and Robert Postel, former Deputy Chief of Operations, discussed details of Shin's attack as well as Muhammad's arrest following a news report about the incident.
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Nicholson → report → incident
'A bunch of bulls***,' Nicholson wrote in one message.
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Nicholson → write → message
'Muhammad never bothered a soul until Gabe,' wrote Postel.
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Postel → bother → Gabe
Gabe has an a**hole attorney and is acting like a drama queen,' Nicholson allegedly replied, according to the outlet.
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Nicholson → have → outlet
According to court documents, Muhammad was never formally disciplined until he was fired last year, three years after the attack.
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he → accord → attack
The lawsuit settlement came almost seven months after Judge Vince Chhabria, the judge assigned to the case, sharply disapproved of the city's attempt to have the case thrown out of court earlier in March of this year.
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case → come → year
'There is plenty of evidence that officials at the Fire Department harassed Shin and retaliated against him for his understandable desire to press charges.
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officials → be → charges
It’s difficult to understand how these officials could have thought their conduct in protecting Muhammad and disfavoring Shin was justified.
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conduct → ’ → Shin
It’s even more difficult to imagine a jury reaching that conclusion,' said Judge Chhabria, according to court documents.
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Chhabria → ’ → documents
'We believe the proposed settlement is an appropriate resolution given the inherent costs of continued litigation,' Alex Barrett Shorter, a spokesperson for the city's attorney's office told The San Francisco Chronicle.
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Shorter → believe → Chronicle
The Daily Mail has reached out to the attorneys for each plaintiff and defendant listed in the lawsuit for comment.
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Mail → reach → comment
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