Fort Worth college employee fired after leaving handgun on desk, lawsuit says
A Tarrant County College employee was fired after he set his handgun on his desk while he went to the bathroom, according to a lawsuit filed against the college.
In response to questions about the lawsuit, Tarrant County College said it does not comment on personnel matters.
Joseph Matthews was the director of printing services for the Tarrant County College District and legally carried a small handgun as a concealed weapon on campus, according to the suit.
On July 23, he was inside his office at the college when he got up to use the restroom. Usually, he wore the .380 caliber handgun in a holster on a thick leather belt in starched jeans. But due to a relaxed dress code at the college over the summer, he was wearing the gun on a thin leather belt in shorts, according to the lawsuit Matthews filed against TCC in the U.S. District Court in Fort Worth on Aug. 13.
Matthews removed his gun from the holster and laid it near the riser of his standing desk. The handgun was out of sight from one doorway, but visible from the second doorway in Matthew’s private office, the suit says.
While Matthews was in the restroom, another employee went into his office and took a photo of the gun, according to the suit.
On July 27, the head of TCC’s human resources department called Matthews to tell him there had been a complaint about his handgun being left on his desk and the employee had a photo of it. She said there would be an investigation and that he would be on administrative leave with pay, the suit says.
On July 29, TCC Chancellor Eugene Giovannini wrote a letter to Matthews, informing him that his employment was terminated. Giovannini wrote that Matthews violated TCC’s policy and “the Concealed Campus Carry Regulations,” the lawsuit says.
Texas’ penal code says that someone cannot “intentionally or knowingly display” a handgun in plain view of another person on a college campus. Matthews’ attorney, Frank Hill, said Matthews did not violate this law because Matthews merely set the gun down in his private office, not intentionally in another person’s view.
“I guess in retrospect, he should have kept it strapped to his body while he went to the restroom,” Hill said. “But it’s not a violation of the statute or policy because it requires intent.”
Matthews is seeking reinstatement to his job and damages.
According to the suit, Matthews’ employees were aware he legally carried a concealed gun because during an employee active-shooter training, the instructors announced that Matthews did so.
Matthews appealed his termination, but Giovannini “refused to reverse the decision based on prior situations where employees had brandished a weapon and been fired on the spot,” the lawsuit said.
“At worst it was a mistake and doesn’t require termination,” Hill said.
The college’s campus police told Matthews that they were starting a criminal investigation on Aug. 10. An officer took Matthews’ statement and said he was going to go inspect Matthews’ office in person and then turn the matter over to the Tarrant County District Attorney’s Office.
On Aug. 21, Matthews was charged with intentionally displaying a handgun on a college campus, according to court records.
