BEXAR COUNTY, Texas -- The Bexar County Probation Officers Association and the United Steel Workers International Union held a press conference Friday to announce that the groups are moving forward with a lawsuit in federal court against  Bexar County Chief of Probation Jarvis Anderson.

They allege that Anderson violated the First Amendment rights of freedom of speech and freedom of association, as well as the Fourteenth Amendment rights to equal protection of the law. They also allege he is in violation of Texas law protecting employees from coercion in their right to belong to a labor organization.

The lawsuit stems from union president Sergio Castilleja being removed from his position at the Bexar County Community Supervision and Corrections Department by Anderson in 2017, citing negligence and violation of department policies. Castilleja said he was wrongfully removed and believes Anderson acted in retaliation to try and stop the activities of the union from reporting any corruption in the department.

A few years ago, Castilleja and other union members exposed that parolees with active warrants have been allowed to walk free out of probation offices instead of being taken into custody.

After Castilleja was fired, he says other union members left due to intimidation and fear of speaking out like he did. He said letting parolees out onto the streets is a threat to the safety of the city. He believes Anderson still has a job because judges don't want to deal with the overall issues of having Anderson come to the table and meet with them.

"Some of the judges that are helping us out and hearing us out are being ignored, and right now he's in a position where if the judges don't address it with him, no one, other than the union, is affecting him. So he's in a very powerful position," Castilleja​ said.

Spectrum News reached out to the Probation Department for a comment from Anderson but have not heard back.