MOTION SEEKS TO HALT AWARD COUNCIL URGED TO RECONSIDER `DOG FOOD' SETTLEMENT.

Byline: RICK ORLOV Staff Writer

Two Los Angeles City Council members joined Friday to urge the council to reconsider its decision to award $2.7 million to a firefighter who was the victim of a hazing incident at a Westchester fire station when dog food was put in his meal.

Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa has yet to sign off on the settlement with Firefighter Tennie Pierce and has been urged by council members to wait until they can review the case.

Since the council approved the award, photographs have emerged showing Pierce participating in some hazing incidents.

``In light of this new information, we should take another look at this case,'' Councilman Dennis Zine said in a motion supported by Councilman Bill Rosendahl. ``This case has, rightfully, drawn public outrage. I continue to feel disappointed that a settlement like this was approved. I was a police officer for 30 years, and pranks like this happen.''

The settlement has drawn widespread criticism among the public and has become fodder for the talk-radio circuit, particularly after the photographs surfaced showing Pierce performing pranks with his colleagues.

The motion by Zine and Rosendahl asks for a full report from Fire Chief Bill Bamattre as well as the City Attorney's Office.

Pierce, a 19-year veteran of the department, alleged he was working at a Westchester fire station when colleagues served him a plate of spaghetti for dinner. When he saw them laughing after he took several bites, he stood and demanded to know what they had put in his meal. They said it was dog food.

Pierce, who is 6-feet-5, said the incident was prompted by a volleyball game earlier in the day when he boasted: ``You guys keep feeding the Big Dog,'' which was his nickname.

In his suit, Pierce said the prank was offensive, humiliating and had racial overtones because he is African-American and his colleagues are not.

``Because of what happened to me, I could not trust people I worked with,'' Pierce said.

Zine was the only council member to vote against the settlement when it was originally approved and unsuccessfully tried earlier this week to block it. Aides to Villaraigosa said the mayor is continuing to study the matter.

City Attorney Rocky Delgadillo issued a statement through a spokesman saying his office had presented all relevant information to the council in recommending the settlement but would meet again with council members on the matter.

rick.orlov(at)dailynews.com

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