A small town Texas firefighter now has the backing of the U.S. Justice Department in his fight against his demotion.

The demotion came less than a month after he reported the fire chief for using racial slurs.

It was last year when three Selma firefighters complained to the city administrator that Fire Chief Ric Braun frequently used racial slurs about minorities.

Matt Carr was one of those firefighters. "It would be N-word this, N-word that, 'wetbacks, we don't need wetbacks,'" Carr said.

He came forward to talk about it after he had quit the department because he could not stand it. 

"I know people may look at this and say I'm bitter and angry,” Carr said last year. “I'm not bitter and angry. It's just the right thing to do." He filed a grievance against Braun.

Now a federal lawsuit has been filed against the City of Selma involving another firefighter's complaints about racism by the chief.

Adam Sadler was demoted from lieutenant to firefighter less than a month after he filed that racism complaint.

The suit says Sadler regularly heard racial and ethnic slurs used by Braun and submitted a written complaint. Then, Braun sought permission to demote Sadler.

The suit concludes that the reasons for Sadler's demotion have shifted over time and are not credible and that the city has subjected Sadler to discrimination.

Attorney Charles Frigerio represents the City of Selma.

"There's no denying there was some colorful jokes and language among the department," Frigerio said.

But he said Sadler's demotion had nothing to do with his complaint about racism. "There was a destruction of property and it's not only the destruction of property but a lack of trust in Mr. Sadler trying to cover that up," Frigerio said. It will now be up to a jury to decide. 

Braun did go through sensitivity training last year and was encouraged to clean up the language at the fire station.