A Dallas County security officer who worked at the Frank Crowley Courts Building was fired on Monday for a number of reasons, including being a
morale-buster. But Charlotte
Hardy insists the real reason she was fired was because she told higher-ups that officers at the Crowley are sleeping on the job and sleeping with each other.
Hardy sent an
anonymous e-mail to Dallas County Commissioner Maurine Dickey on June 21. It began: "I would like to tell you of a few
problems in my department." The letter noted times of day when the
exterior doors to the courthouse could be found unsecured (between 5
p.m. and 7 a.m.). Also, she noted, "at night most security officers can be found sleep [sic] at the front desk." And
then: "There is a lot of sexual actives [sic] in the department." She went on to name names while insisting that a superior "covered up the
problem."
The director of the Office of Security
and Emergency Management, Robie Robinson, refused to comment when reached by Unfair Park. So did
Chief Alonzo Banks, who penned the termination letter Hardy received on
Monday. "Chief Banks is firm in his 'no comment,'" said Nikki Hodge in
his office.
In his letter, Banks cites two specific errors that led to
Hardy's termination; he also mentions a bad attitude. On June 20, Banks writes,
Hardy failed to inspect a vehicle and report damages before passing it
on to another officer. Then Hardy allegedly failed to give 911
responding officers the correct address of a fight she had called in. As a
result, Banks writes, "Dallas Police Department responded to the wrong
location."
Banks also addresses the officer's attitude:
"Officer Hardy you also have a history in not cooperating with your
colleagues. ... Your behavior has caused the moral in this department to
be affected in a negative way and the image of the department to be
affected in a negative light."
Hardy believes the department
knew she had sent the original e-mail to the commissioner since
she had been complaining about such problems to the department head for
some time. Hardy believes her communication with the commissioner is
the real reason behind her firing. The other stuff, she says, is just
an excuse.
"They're just making stuff up," Hardy tells Unfair Park. "The
department is upset with me for going to the commissioners and
complaining. So it was excuse to fire me."
Indeed, Commissioner
Dickey's office confirms they are aware of the officer's name. Two days
after the first anonymous email, they received a follow-up, this time
with Hardy's real name on it. "I am in trouble for speaking up," Hardy
wrote in an e-mail.
Although Commissioner Dickey was not
available to comment, her assistant, Mike Pappas spoke about the occurrence. Pappas
explained that as soon as they got the e-mail, they forwarded it
directly to Banks and Robinson. After that, it was out
of the commissioner's hands and up to Human Resources and the
department to handle Hardy's missives.
Pappas believe that the department
handled the matter immediately and probably got rid of anybody actually
guilty of any of the accusations made in the e-mail. "I would think that
any department head dealing with an individual with that kind of
demeanor would have handled it immediately and everything documented
with human resources," said Pappas.
Hardy filed a grievance with the county Tuesday morning to appeal the decision.
