HOUSTON – The Harris County Precinct 2 Constable is being sued by several of his former employees who are accusing him of wrongfully terminating or demoting them.
"These are people that lay their lives on the line for the citizens of Harris County and they should not be treated like this,” said Scott Poerschke, the attorney representing the 11 people who filed the lawsuit against Constable Christopher Diaz in federal court.
In the lawsuit, several of the employees say once they stopped supporting Diaz’s campaign financially or how he was operating it, he took action against them.
"They understood that when they were employed, that Diaz required, he coerced them to give campaign donations and when they stood up and challenged him on that, they told Diaz ‘no,’ he retaliated against them,” Poerschke said.
Nine former deputies and two civilians who once worked at Precinct 2 say they were either demoted or fired. In two instances, the lawsuit alleges deputies were “dishonorably discharged.”
“Which means then that these officers are considered liars in the law-enforcement community and their ability to testify in court is severely limited,” said Poerschke of the “dishonorable discharges."
Poerschke says besides having the employees reinstated, the ultimate goal is to have their day in court.
“People should, when they see corruption, they should feel free to stand up and fight against it,” said Poerschke.
KPRC 2 reached out to Diaz for comment several times, but as Thursday night, have still have not heard back.