Eduardo Castillo
The Wichita Eagle
(MCT)
Feb. 15—A Black fire captain is suing the city of Wichita, alleging his civil rights were violated when superiors falsified an evaluation and cost him a promotion.
A city spokesperson would not comment on the suit. But in court filings, the city denied the allegations.
Mark Jordan, who has worked for the city for more than 25 years, alleges that in September 2020, a Wichita Fire Department deputy chief demanded that two battalion chiefs tamper with his employee evaluation.
Fabricated information included Jordan’s alleged “mismanagement of a fire on Seneca Street in 2019,” according to the lawsuit. That information blocked Jordan from being promoted to battalion chief in December 2020, the lawsuit said.
Chief Tammy Snow told city management that Jordan did a good job in the Seneca fire, the suit said.
In February 2021, Jordan discovered the fabricated July 2020 evaluation after requesting it from the city’s human resource office, the lawsuit says.
He compared it to the original July 2020 evaluation he had in his personal file. Jordan alleges his signature was forged to make it seem as though he acknowledged it, the suit says.
City officials have refused to acknowledge the false evaluation, and no one involved in making it has been fired, the lawsuit said.
Jordan is seeking $75,000 in damages. He has also requested a jury trial.
The suit was filed last October in Sedgwick County District Court. It was moved to federal court in January.
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