EDITORIAL PUT THE FIRE IN LAFD WHERE'S THE ACCOUNTABILITY IN $2.7 MILLION DOG-FOOD SAGA?

IN the not-so-proud history of ritualistic hazing, there have certainly been greater abuses and indignities inflicted on people than being tricked into eating a few bites of dog food.

Yet somehow an ex-L.A. Fire Department employee whose colleagues slipped dog chow into his spaghetti will collect $2.7 million in a settlement with the city.

Something here doesn't add up.

Either the city is grossly overpaying for an obnoxious gag, or -- what's more likely -- a far greater scandal is being concealed.

Supposedly this incident is racial in nature, although evidence of that has yet to be publicly released. Still, given the LAFD's ugly past of racial and sexual harassment, that's easy to believe.

But if this is an incident of racial harassment, and if the problem is so pervasive that the city bears responsibility for it, and if the offense is so great that it justifies a $2.7 million payment -- then the people of L.A. deserve a lot more than a hush-hush legal settlement.

If this story is as bad as its settlement makes it appear, then all those responsible should be fired. And the public deserves a full accounting not only of what happened, but also of what's being done to make sure it doesn't happen again.

Anything less than that is an insult -- and insults, apparently, can be pricey.