The Standard obtained a copy of a lawsuit, former Dover City Police Chief, Dennis Honholt filed against Dover last month in US District Court in Nashville. Honholt is listed as the Plaintiff, the Town of Dover, Charles Parks, SR., Mayor Lesa Fitzhugh and City Attorney Olivia Wann are all listed as defendants. Attorney’s for Honholt are listed as, Music City Law, Pllc, located at 1033 Demonbreun Street, Suite 300 Nashville, TN. They are the same law firm who filed a $1.25 million lawsuit against the school system in Torres vs. Stewart County School System, in December of 2021. The Standard reported extensively on the suit at the time. It was closed, dismissed and the appeal dismissed two years later. The same US District Court, ruled Sept. 28. 2023, on an order dismissing the case on all claims, stating, “Plaintiff failed to identify any evidence from which a reasonable jury could conclude that he suffered reputational harm due to a breach of confidence on the part of school employees.” It is well known, Honholt and Torres’s mother knew each other well.
The lawsuit states in part, “Plaintiff served as Police Chief for the Town of Dover, TN, for more than five years. During his tenure, he uncovered suspected public corruption involving misuse of public funds, conflicts of interest, official misconduct, and violations of federal and state regulations. When Plaintiff reported suspected corruption and safety violations to state and federal authorities in or around Sept., 2024, he became the target of a systematic campaign of retaliation culminating in his discharge May 9, 2025. Defendants violated Plaintiff’s clearly established constitutional rights by terminating his employment in retaliation for engaging in protected speech and petitioning government authorities regarding matters of profound public concern, and by depriving him of constitutionally required pre-termination process despite his legitimate claim of entitlement to continued employment. Plaintiff hereby demands a trial by jury on all issues so triable.” It also states, Honholt is a citizen and resident of Montgomery County.
Honholt was hired in 2020 by then City Manager Gerald Campbell. The lawsuit claims, “During hiring negotiations, Plaintiff and Campbell specifically discussed and agreed that Plaintiff would receive “property rights” in his position and would not be terminated or “unappointed” without just cause and appropriate procedural protections. Campbell acknowledged the importance of this protection to induce Plaintiff to relocate his family to Dover and accept the position. Plaintiff has more than thirty years of law enforcement experience and maintains a nearly unblemished employment record. Throughout his tenure with Dover, Plaintiff received no formal discipline and consistently received positive feedback from supervisors and colleagues, though the Town failed to provide written performance evaluations. Under Plaintiff’s leadership, the Dover Police Dept. achieved substantial improvements in professionalism, training, community relations, and operational effectiveness.” It didn’t elaborate on what, “nearly unblemished”, meant or what “substantial” improvements occurred. CLAIMS IN LAWSUIT…