A civil rights lawsuit filed over the summer by an attorney representing former Polk County Fire Chief Hezedean Smith alleges a racially charged, hostile environment stoked by county leaders is to blame for Smith’s departure in 2024.
Smith’s lead attorney, Michael G. Mann of Tallahassee, filed the lawsuit on July 10 in the U.S. Middle District of Florida Court in Tampa alleges Smith’s workplace environment was hostile and that he faced racial discrimination and retaliation after he fired a battalion chief.
Smith’s attorneys, which also include Charles T. Tucker Jr., have requested the court declare that Polk County violated his civil rights, and award him damages for lost wages and benefits and compensate him for emotional distress as well as attorneys’ fees…