KALAMAZOO − A jury on Friday sided with Lansing activist and former firefighter Michael Lynn Jr. on Lynn's claim he was subjected to a hostile work environment by the city of Lansing.

Court records indicate the jury found in Lynn's favor following a five-day trial in U.S. District Court in Kalamazoo.

Lynn said the jury's verdict brought him to tears.

"It was a long time coming," Lynn said. "The city was really staunch that I was lying ... so to see a jury come back that they'd seen it too, it was just overwhelming. Emotionally overwhelming."

His attorney, Bingham Farms-based Scott Batey, said Saturday that the verdict was $1 million and he would be seeking additional legal fees and court costs.

The city disagrees with the verdict and will work with outside lawyers to review a potential appeal, the city's attorney, Jim Smiertaka, said in a statement Saturday.

Batey said the verdict was separate from a wrongful termination claim, which is in a grievance hearing process.

He said the city has not agreed to meet with Lynn and has not taken concrete steps to prevent hostile workplaces following Lynn's experience.

Lynn has been a leader of Black Lives Matter Lansing and a vocal critic of Mayor Andy Schor's administration.

He has alleged racial discrimination in lawsuits against the city and was fired from the Lansing Fire Department in early 2021 after city officials said he violated department policies.

Before his firing, Lynn rankled city officials by sharing then-Police Chief Daryl Green's city-issued cell phone number on Facebook, after the department shared a Facebook post which honored a police dog killed in 1999. The post did not name Aldric McKinstry Jr., the Black 18-year-old shot and killed by police that night. McKinstry was a friend of Lynn's.

Lynn said his termination was retaliatory.

More:City sends termination notice to Lansing firefighter Michael Lynn Jr.

Lynn filed a federal lawsuit in January 2019 alleging the city retaliated against him with disciplinary action after he complained about racism in the fire department. A similar suit was filed in Ingham County Circuit Court the following year.

In March, U.S. District Judge Paul Maloney dismissed part of Lynn's suit, saying Lynn failed to prove he suffered an adverse employment action. But Maloney said Lynn's hostile work environment claim could continue, saying the city didn't properly address Lynn's claims about harassment, discrimination and a hostile work environment.

"(Lynn) has put forth sufficient evidence to create a genuine issue of material facts whether the City's policies against race discrimination were sufficient," the judge wrote.

Lynn was hired into the fire department in late 2014 as part of a program to increase diversity, according to his federal suit. He made numerous complaints to fire department management that he was being harassed and discriminated against because of his race, the suit said.

Court records indicate the 2020 lawsuit he filed in Ingham County Circuit Court was dismissed by stipulation in June.

The result of the wrongful termination claim will determine whether or not Lynn will be reinstated to the fire department, Lynn said. If he wins that case, he said he can't say for sure whether or not he would rejoin the department, saying "there's other issues that are in play."

Still, Lynn said Friday's verdict was validating.

"It was a lot," he said. "My reputation was challenged, my integrity was challenged — all the way up until this point. So, I feel like this is definitely vindication.”

Reporters Mike Ellis and Jared Weber contributed.

Contact Ken Palmer atkpalmer@lsj.com. Follow him on Twitter @KBPalm_lsj.