By Adriana M. Chávez
El Paso Times
EL PASO, Texas — Jurors have awarded $100,000 to a Fire Department official who blew the whistle on alleged malfeasance, including falsification of training records.
The plaintiff, Alan Parsons, sued the city after his superiors removed him from a supervisory role at the department training academy and reassigned him to headquarters.
Parsons, 48, claimed that the city reassigned him because he reported departmental violations to the Texas Commission on Fire Protection in April 2007.
He tried to get the city to comply with state training requirements but was ignored, said his attorney, Francisco X. Domin guez.
Parsons said the city repeatedly failed to meet continuing education requirements for Fire Department personnel, including those who respond to hazardous material spills.
He also alleged that former fire Chief Roberto Rivera submitted false records to the state about firefighter training.
Parsons said doctored records falsely indicated that Fire Department personnel were meeting their continuing education requirements.
Rivera could not be reached for comment.
He retired as chief 11 months ago, while Parsons’ lawsuit was winding its way toward trial.
After Parsons reported violations of training procedures, the state Commission on Fire Protection fined the city more than $200,000. The fines were later reduced to $25,000.
Dominguez said Parsons never lost his title as department training chief. But Parsons was not allowed to supervise training because the city had removed him from the academy.
“That was part of the way that the city was trying to hide what they were really trying to do to him,” Dominguez said. “He kept the same job title, but that doesn’t mean anything if you’re not able to do your job.”
County court jurors on Wednesday decided that the city was liable for retaliation under the Texas Whistleblower Act, Dominguez said. They awarded Parsons $100,000 for “emotional pain and suffering, inconvenience and mental anguish.”
City spokeswoman Juli Lozano said City Council members would discuss whether to appeal the verdict during a closed session Tuesday. Lozano said City Manager Joyce Wilson and Mayor John Cook would not comment on the verdict.
Parsons also declined to comment.
But his lawyers said Parsons felt vindicated by the jury’s unanimous verdict.
“He stood up and did what was right, but the city really tainted his name and his reputation by removing him from the station,” Domin guez said.
The case was heard before Judge Carlos Villa in County Court-at-Law No. 5.
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