Perez Grievance, Hearing, Part 2
September 26th, 2023 by Joe Burgess
At 11:40, the hearing broke for lunch, but prior to that, the JPs asked Nichols several questions, dealing with organizational charts and similar topics.
Attorney Hicks then requested Nichols answer one more question, which was “since he is not required to follow the JP‘s decision, would he consider rehiring Perez.” His response was, at this point,“No.”
11:10 am update. Next Atty. Cliff Gibson asked Nichols about Perez’ Facebook post, stating the Perez was fired for “unknown reasons.”
Next the emotional meeting video between Nichols and Perez was played, which took place immediately after the jail meeting.
Then the video of Perez’ termination was played. The video stated he was terminated as for “incidents that occurred at the jail” that day.
Perez was heard saying that Nichols would not have a second term as Sheriff.
Perez’ emotional nature was also questioned.
Hicks then questioned Nichols as to why he recorded the Perez meetings.
A jail office assistant’s dismissal was then a topic of conversation, before Nichols’ questioning came to an end from Gibson and Hicks.
10:30. Update. Next up, Hicks asked Nichols about an August 20 email Perez sent Nichols, describing violations of jail operational policies.
Nichols referred the issues to the jail administrator, who called a jail staff meeting on August 23. Perez was instructed to meet Nichols at the office, since he was not involved in jail operations, but said he would after the jail meeting.
Nichols continued explaining Perez’ action and conduct, during the meeting, while Nichols’ didn’t describe Perez’ comments as “yelling”, he also disagreed with Hicks’ phrase “mumbling under his breath.”
Jail issues discussed included topics like braiding a trustee’s hair, and a jailer taking a cellphone into the jail area.
Nichols commented the he’d told Perez 3 times to leave the meeting, and was told, “no,” hanging up on Nichols the last time.
Perez, minutes after the meeting, met with Nichols, upset that “ nothing on the list was discussed “ despite other staff’s reports that they were.
Two other related incidents were mentioned, before Hicks asked Nichols if he’d previously considered terminating Perez, when Nichols replied, “no.”
The hearing took a 10 minute break, until 10:30 AM.
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