By David Ball

david.ball@panews.com

The city of Port Arthur has confirmed Ronald McElhose, transit general manager for the city, has resigned as of Tuesday.

LaRisa Carpenter, public information officer, said the city wishes him well in his future endeavors. McElhose has been employed with the city since 2015.

McElhose was named in a wrongful termination suit filed against the city of Port Arthur from a former employees who alleges racism and retaliation, according to a former Port Arthur News article.

Debra Ambroise filed the suit Feb. 1, 2017 in federal court, naming the city of Port Arthur as a defendant.

Ambroise, who is also on the Port Arthur Independent School District school board, was hired by the city in 2008 as a water utility manager and fired in June 2016.

In the suit, Ambroise details a series of events leading to her termination and claims a hostile work environment led to an illness and extended leave in April 2016. The lawsuit cites a meeting April 15, 2016, between Ambroise, Transit General Manager Ron McElhose and others, during which the transit director allegedly yelled at Ambroise.

The lawsuit states, “As plaintiff was asking McElhose for instruction on how to satisfy McDougal’s concern, McElhose escalated the hostility further and began screaming at plaintiff, pointing fingers at plaintiff, and yelling ‘shut up, you shut up, shut your mouth right now, and get the hell out of my office.’”

According to the lawsuit, Ambroise then reported the incident and “threats of intimidation” to City Manager Brian McDougal and assistant city manager, Jimmie Johnson, despite warnings that doing so would cost Ambroise her job. The suit states that McDougal said he was “offended” by her complaint, and she was chastised for complaining. Because of the alleged hostile work environment, Ambroise filed for a Family Medical Leave Act request in order to take time off. She was granted the request.

It was during Ambroise’s leave that McDougal checked personnel records and timecards, discovering a timekeeping discrepancy that led to criminal charges being filed against Ambroise and her dismissal.

According to the lawsuit, McElhose “hand delivered” news of the discrepancy to McDougal and, without any further proof and after 15 minutes of thought, McDougal called the police and asked Lt. Bubba Blitch to investigate. The lawsuit goes on to say that McDougal fired Ambroise after the police alerted him that she would be arrested but before police could offer any evidence of wrongdoing to McDougal. According to the lawsuit, Ambroise learned she was fired via text message on June 12, 2016. In addition, the lawsuit alleges, “McDougal is on record admitting (he) gave plaintiff no notice of any question of a time discrepancy nor an opportunity to explain any questions of a discrepancy.”

Ambroise was arrested on July 19, 2016 and charged with aggregate theft by a public servant and five counts of tampering with a government record, both felony charges stemming from allegations that she falsified timecards.

In December 2016, the district attorney’s office decided not to pursue an indictment. Cory Kneeland, intake chief with the DA’s office, said at the time that exculpatory evidence came to light in mid-December that influenced the decision. That evidence included a transcript from an internal city hearing during which one of Ambroise’s supervisor cleared her of wrongdoing, stating “No, she didn’t intend to steal,” Kneeland said.

The lawsuit contends that the falsified records were a pretext for termination and that Ambroise was really fired because she complained about harassment at work and because of her extended medical absence.