Shavano Park fire captain alleges racial discrimination
Lawsuit claims that he wasn’t made chief because he’s Hispanic
A Shavano Park Fire Department captain has filed a federal discrimination lawsuit against the small city in North Bexar County, claiming he wasn't hired for the fire chief 's job because he is Hispanic.
Capt. Ivan Hernandez, 47, who has worked at the department for almost 20 years, accuses the city of passing him over almost two years ago and hiring someone less qualified to lead the department. City officials gave the top job to former Castle Hills fire chief Darrell Dover in January 2019.
Dover, who is white, is not mentioned by name in the lawsuit. His Linkedin page shows he has worked for various local fire departments for more than 25 years, including 20 years at the Castle Hills department, where he rose to the rank of captain before becoming its chief in 2017.
Hernandez was first hired by the Shavano Park Fire Department in 2001 and also worked for a time at the Seguin Fire Department.
He continues to work full time as a fire department captain in Shavano Park, an affluent community of almost 3,800 residents, where whites account for 71 percent of the population and the median annual household income is $204,737, according to the latest U.S. Census Bureau data.
Hernandez is concerned that he might face retaliation because of the discrimination claims raised by his Dec. 22 lawsuit, said his attorney, Alfonso Kennard Jr., who runs a labor and employment law firm in Houston.
The city has not yet been served with the lawsuit, Shavano Park officials reported.
Mayor Bob Werner denied racial bias played any role in any of the city's personnel matters. In an email Thursday, he defended the decision to hire Dover, calling him an “excellent” choice and the best candidate for the job.
“The city's hiring and firing decisions have never been made based on a person's ethnicity,” Werner wrote.
The mayor said the city makes every effort to follow best practices in all personnel matters, weighing the recommendations of an ethnically diverse selection panel on hirings or promotions for all community director positions, including the fire chief's job.
Hernandez wants things to be done right, his attorney said.
“He is not greedy, and he is not looking for a windfall,” Kennard said. “When you file a lawsuit, it becomes public record. He was willing to sacrifice his own reputation in doing so because he felt strongly enough that it was the right thing to do. It's not like it did him any favors moving forward.”
In late 2018, Hernandez applied for the Shavano Park fire chief's position and was interviewed for the job. City officials never offered him an explanation as to why they hired Dover, the lawsuit states.
Hernandez then examined the city's selection process. He filed an open records request for the fire chief 's job posting, the job requirements, the scoring of the applicants and the interview notes.
“It became obvious that the
scoring was biased toward the applicant from outside the department, especially on items Mr. Hernandez was clearly more qualified or knowledgeable on,” the lawsuit states. “This was not a fair evaluation. It made no sense.
“Going into the process of selecting a new chief, Mr. Hernandez recognized that those on the selection committee had already picked their horse in the race, and the city council rubber stamped it, just as it had always been.”
Hernandez enjoys his job, but believes that the city council’s and the selection committee’s conduct was discriminatory, the lawsuit noted.
“When we compare (Hernandez) to the individual that he was up against, we believe that in a court of law, we will show conclusively that he was the most qualified,” Kennard said.
Dover did not respond to requests for comment.
Kennard said the city has a history of discrimination. Hernandez could not recall Shavano Park officials ever naming a nonwhite or Hispanic employee as the head of any city department in the nearly 20 years he has worked there, the lawsuit stated.
But the mayor disputed that Thursday, noting Shavano Park’s current city secretary-human resources director is Hispanic, as was the person who previously held that position. Werner also said one of the city’s former public works directors and a former city manager were Hispanic.
Werner said in the five years he has served as Shavano Park’s mayor, each review panel has made unanimous recommendations on which applicants should be selected for department directors’ positions.
“Prior to each (council) vote, the resumés of the top candidates are reviewed by council members, along with our city manager’s recommendation, which has historically followed the panel’s results,” Werner said.
Hernandez and his attorney haven’t yet decided if they will seek a specific amount of monetary damages or press for him to be given the Shavano Park fire chief ’s job.
Shavano Park officials let Hernandez “get to a certain point, but they weren’t going to let him get to the top,” Kennard said. “And that’s a shame.”
As recently as Dec. 21, a photo showing the fire captain receiving his first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine was posted on the Shavano Park Firefighters’ Facebook page.
“It takes a strong individual to continue to serve his community in that fashion,” Kennard said.