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| PUBLIC RISK MANAGEMENT NEWS |
City of Dallas to Pay Sacked Fire official $1.55M
Harassment claims disputed; Ex-City worker gets settlement, reinstated
9:57 PM CDT on Wednesday, June 20, 2007
By MICHAEL GRABELL / The Dallas Morning News
mgrabell@dallasnews.com
Dallas will pay $1.55 million to a former assistant fire chief it fired after a sexual harassment investigation if the City Council
approves a settlement reached Wednesday by attorneys. Assistant Fire Chief Roland Gamez, who oversaw the city's 911
call center, contended in a wrongful-termination lawsuit that the accusations were baseless and brought by disgruntled
employees who did not receive the full performance bonuses they were seeking.
The case was set to go to trial Monday in federal court in Marshall. But attorneys reached a settlement that would reinstate
Mr. Gamez, allowing him to retire with full honors and benefits, according to sources with knowledge of the agreement. The
sources asked not to be named because the details are to remain confidential until a public hearing before the council.
It's unclear when that will be. Wednesday was the last meeting for the mayor and seven council members. The newly elected
council meets for the first time next Wednesday but then goes on summer break. The case is set for trial July 9 if the city
doesn't approve the settlement.
The city is facing a frustrated judge who has sharply rebuked city attorneys after questions were raised about whether they
had tried to hide or destroy records in the case. Mr. Gamez's attorneys have accused the city of stonewalling and implying
that all computers had been searched for relevant e-mails when they had not. At one point, an attorney for the city had to
take the rare step of getting her own lawyer in case the judge sanctioned her.
"Counsel on behalf of the city of Dallas has engaged in reckless conduct," U.S. District Judge T. John Ward said at an April
30 hearing. "It amounts to nothing short of just pure discovery abuse."
Harassment claims
Mr. Gamez, a 27-year veteran of Dallas Fire-Rescue, was fired in March 2006 after several employees accused him of
inappropriate behavior. According to the internal affairs investigation, Mr. Gamez was accused of telling a male subordinate
that he wanted to kiss him on the lips and of touching the knee of a female subordinate. Seventeen employees made similar
allegations in a survey by internal affairs. Mr. Gamez told investigators that his full comment was "If you were my wife, I'd
kiss you on the lips" and that he touched the woman's knee to console her after she became upset about not receiving her
full bonus. He said the other employees made up a faction of the communications division that supported his accusers.
Mr. Gamez's attorney, Jack Ayres, argued in the case that the assistant chief had a vivacious and warm leadership style that
included patting people on the back and making other gestures to motivate them. Mr. Ayres has said Mr. Gamez was a
victim of politics because he supported former Fire Chief Steve Abraira, whom City Manager Mary Suhm asked to resign in
September 2005.
"Chief Gamez made a terrible mistake: He did his job," Mr. Ayres said then. "He did it fairly. He didn't take into account
race. He didn't kiss Mary Suhm's backside."
Ms. Suhm said she couldn't comment because of the pending lawsuit. City attorneys did not return calls.
E-mails deleted
Mr. Gamez sued the city in April 2006. He said the allegations humiliated him, damaged his reputation and prevented him
from getting another job in public service. The city argued that Mr. Gamez had been warned about inappropriate touching in
the past and that the acting chief had lost confidence in his ability to lead. As the case progressed, Judge Ward grew
increasingly frustrated about the city's actions in turning over records to Mr. Gamez's lawyers as required by law. Initially,
the city turned over a handful of e-mails, but an independent expert hired by Mr. Gamez's lawyers found dozens more.
Fire department investigators admitted throwing away notes and deleting e-mails. A computer hard drive that the city said
had been sent back to the manufacturer after it was replaced was later found in the city's possession. The city attorney's
office blamed the mistakes on a complex e-mail archiving process that was laborious to search.
After Judge Ward accused Assistant City Attorney Katherine Wise of dishonesty and fraud, the city attorney's office hired
an attorney to represent her.
"The record is clear that there have been mistakes made," the attorney, Randy Johnston, said in court documents. "Ms.
Wise categorically denies, however, that she ever intentionally misrepresented anything."
Some City Council members told WFAA-TV (Channel 8) on Wednesday that they were stunned by the amount of the
settlement after learning about it in executive session. Before the session, Mayor Laura Miller said she's tired of these kind of
cases coming back to haunt the city.
"One thing we ought to get good at is crossing every 't' and dotting every 'i' if and when we're going to let people from the
city go. And when we don't do that, then it costs us. And it shouldn't."
Chris Heinbaugh of WFAA-TV contributed to this report.
Harassment claims disputed; Ex-City worker gets settlement, reinstated
9:57 PM CDT on Wednesday, June 20, 2007
By MICHAEL GRABELL / The Dallas Morning News
mgrabell@dallasnews.com
Dallas will pay $1.55 million to a former assistant fire chief it fired after a sexual harassment investigation if the City Council
approves a settlement reached Wednesday by attorneys. Assistant Fire Chief Roland Gamez, who oversaw the city's 911
call center, contended in a wrongful-termination lawsuit that the accusations were baseless and brought by disgruntled
employees who did not receive the full performance bonuses they were seeking.
The case was set to go to trial Monday in federal court in Marshall. But attorneys reached a settlement that would reinstate
Mr. Gamez, allowing him to retire with full honors and benefits, according to sources with knowledge of the agreement. The
sources asked not to be named because the details are to remain confidential until a public hearing before the council.
It's unclear when that will be. Wednesday was the last meeting for the mayor and seven council members. The newly elected
council meets for the first time next Wednesday but then goes on summer break. The case is set for trial July 9 if the city
doesn't approve the settlement.
The city is facing a frustrated judge who has sharply rebuked city attorneys after questions were raised about whether they
had tried to hide or destroy records in the case. Mr. Gamez's attorneys have accused the city of stonewalling and implying
that all computers had been searched for relevant e-mails when they had not. At one point, an attorney for the city had to
take the rare step of getting her own lawyer in case the judge sanctioned her.
"Counsel on behalf of the city of Dallas has engaged in reckless conduct," U.S. District Judge T. John Ward said at an April
30 hearing. "It amounts to nothing short of just pure discovery abuse."
Harassment claims
Mr. Gamez, a 27-year veteran of Dallas Fire-Rescue, was fired in March 2006 after several employees accused him of
inappropriate behavior. According to the internal affairs investigation, Mr. Gamez was accused of telling a male subordinate
that he wanted to kiss him on the lips and of touching the knee of a female subordinate. Seventeen employees made similar
allegations in a survey by internal affairs. Mr. Gamez told investigators that his full comment was "If you were my wife, I'd
kiss you on the lips" and that he touched the woman's knee to console her after she became upset about not receiving her
full bonus. He said the other employees made up a faction of the communications division that supported his accusers.
Mr. Gamez's attorney, Jack Ayres, argued in the case that the assistant chief had a vivacious and warm leadership style that
included patting people on the back and making other gestures to motivate them. Mr. Ayres has said Mr. Gamez was a
victim of politics because he supported former Fire Chief Steve Abraira, whom City Manager Mary Suhm asked to resign in
September 2005.
"Chief Gamez made a terrible mistake: He did his job," Mr. Ayres said then. "He did it fairly. He didn't take into account
race. He didn't kiss Mary Suhm's backside."
Ms. Suhm said she couldn't comment because of the pending lawsuit. City attorneys did not return calls.
E-mails deleted
Mr. Gamez sued the city in April 2006. He said the allegations humiliated him, damaged his reputation and prevented him
from getting another job in public service. The city argued that Mr. Gamez had been warned about inappropriate touching in
the past and that the acting chief had lost confidence in his ability to lead. As the case progressed, Judge Ward grew
increasingly frustrated about the city's actions in turning over records to Mr. Gamez's lawyers as required by law. Initially,
the city turned over a handful of e-mails, but an independent expert hired by Mr. Gamez's lawyers found dozens more.
Fire department investigators admitted throwing away notes and deleting e-mails. A computer hard drive that the city said
had been sent back to the manufacturer after it was replaced was later found in the city's possession. The city attorney's
office blamed the mistakes on a complex e-mail archiving process that was laborious to search.
After Judge Ward accused Assistant City Attorney Katherine Wise of dishonesty and fraud, the city attorney's office hired
an attorney to represent her.
"The record is clear that there have been mistakes made," the attorney, Randy Johnston, said in court documents. "Ms.
Wise categorically denies, however, that she ever intentionally misrepresented anything."
Some City Council members told WFAA-TV (Channel 8) on Wednesday that they were stunned by the amount of the
settlement after learning about it in executive session. Before the session, Mayor Laura Miller said she's tired of these kind of
cases coming back to haunt the city.
"One thing we ought to get good at is crossing every 't' and dotting every 'i' if and when we're going to let people from the
city go. And when we don't do that, then it costs us. And it shouldn't."
Chris Heinbaugh of WFAA-TV contributed to this report.
