Dismissed police volunteer files federal lawsuit against Henderson, city manager

A former Henderson Police Department volunteer filed a federal lawsuit alleging the city and the official who dismissed her in April did so because she was publicly critical of city leadership.

In a 13-page complaint filed Thursday in District Court, Henderson resident Amanda Swartz claims she was dismissed because of comments made at three City Council meetings, during which she criticized city leadership for terminating ex-police chief Hollie Chadwick. The lawsuit also names as a defendant Henderson City Manager Stephanie Garcia-Vause, who Swartz claims directed her dismissal and also placed Chadwick on leave Feb. 13 and fired then fired her on March 6.

Swartz was let go April 14 and claims her dismissal violated her First and 14th Amendment rights and caused harm to her reputation, “extreme emotional distress and mental anguish,” and other adverse consequences. She is seeking a jury trial to determine damages and recoup other expenses.

Former federal prosecutor and Las Vegas-based attorney Paul Padda, who is representing Swartz, could not immediately be reached for comment. A spokesperson for the city of Henderson told the Las Vegas Review-Journal on Thursday evening that they had not been served with the complaint.

‘No legitimate grounds’

According to the lawsuit, Garcia-Vause and the city offered no legitimate grounds for Swartz’s dismissal, and the reason for Swartz’s discharge was a “direct consequence of [her] protected speech and continued association” with Chadwick. The lawsuit states Swartz maintained a strong professional relationship and social friendship with Chadwick, who in May launched a campaign for Henderson mayor.

Swartz would attend council meetings after Chadwick was placed on leave and implored City Council members to explain the former chief’s ouster.

According to public statements made by Garcia-Vause, Chadwick was not fired for cause, and her departure stemmed from a lack of confidence in being able to improve culture and operations within the department.

That contradicts the description Swartz offers of the department, which in the complaint describes Chadwick as a “highly effective” leader among staff, volunteers and the public. The city on June 6 released nearly 250 pages of emails, employee satisfaction surveys and other documents related to Chadwick’s firing — of which many of the responses included in the satisfaction surveys illustrated a department that largely felt overworked and underpaid.

The lawsuit further alleges that Garcia-Vause’s “immediate hostility” to Chadwick after she took over as city manager in January was the result of a longstanding practice to retaliate against police employees who engage in “constitutionally-protected conduct” that conflicts with the views of city leadership.

“Moreover, the city has a longstanding policy and practice of engaging in retaliatory, unethical, illegal, and civilly culpable conduct against HPD personnel who disagree with city officials,” the complaint alleged.

Chadwick’s successor, former Metropolitan Police Department Deputy Chief Reggie Rader, officially started Monday after being named to the post May 28.

Volunteer since 2020

Swartz began volunteering at the Henderson Detention Center in July 2020, according to the complaint, where she would assist with visitation requests, process bail payments and release inmate property to family members. The lawsuit states that by September of that year, Swartz began volunteering at police substations and assisting people with questions regarding cases and filing reports.

Swartz would go on to volunteer at the department’s crime analysis unit, investigative services division and other sections and took on more senior tasks such as reviewing ballistics testing reports and researching criminal subjects to aid in their prosecution, according to the complaint.

A city spokesperson told the Review-Journal in April that a volunteer or the city can choose to end their service “at any time or without cause or advance notice.” Though Swartz never sought payment for her work, she worked five days a week, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. for the department, the lawsuit states, and at one point was told her services were valued at $29.25 per hour.

On April 3, Swartz was informed by a supervisor that a city representative had inquired about her and asked “probing questions” about Swartz’s job responsibilities, according to the complaint. Swartz’s supervisors responded with nothing that would have given the city a pretext to fire her, the lawsuit states.

Less than two weeks later, a supervisor advised Swartz that Garcia-Vause had ordered immediately that Swartz cease her volunteer work. After Swartz was let go, “several” former colleagues expressed they were fearful for what would come next.

In addition to Garcia-Vause’s role, according to the lawsuit, Swartz’s dismissal was rooted in the “policymaking and final decision-making authority of the city, and were based on the policy, custom and practice of the city to retaliate against employees who exercise their constitutionally protected rights in a manner that offends the sensibility of city officials.”

Contact Casey Harrison at charrison@reviewjournal.com. Follow @Casey_Harrison1 on X or @casey-harrison.bsky.social on Bluesky.

Swartz Doc by Las Vegas Review-Journal on Scribd