Senior Dallas County Fire Marshal’s Office official Zack Masri is out of a roughly $160,000-a-year job after a human-resources investigation found he mishandled his service weapon and secretly drafted an email that went out under a county commissioner’s name. The HR probe started with a written warning in early May and ended with Masri’s firing on June 8. He is fighting the decision through the county’s appeal process, turning an internal dust-up into a very public test of how the county polices its own security brass.
HR Investigation Details Gun "Joke" and Ghostwritten Email
The county’s human-resources review concluded that Masri violated employee-conduct rules and acted in an insubordinate way, serious enough in their view to justify termination. Investigators cited an April incident in which an internal firearms report said Masri unholstered and pointed his service weapon while talking with a colleague. An assistant chief’s internal review described the move as done in a joking manner, something HR clearly did not find funny.
The same probe also found that Masri drafted an email defending the fire marshal’s authority that was then sent under Commissioner Theresa Daniel’s name, according to The Dallas Morning News. HR officials said the conduct crossed the line on both workplace behavior and chain-of-command protocol.
Paper Trail Shows Masri’s Clout in Marshal Operations
County procurement and vendor records identify Chief Deputy Zack Masri as a key contact for Dallas County’s marshal functions, underscoring how senior he was inside the office before his removal. Contract files list him as the point person on training agreements and other arrangements tied to the marshal service, laying out in black and white his operational role inside the unit. One example is a contract filed with TIPS, which names Masri directly and now serves as part of the paper trail around the job he is trying to win back.
Why the Marshal Office’s Expanding Role Is a Flashpoint
The fight over Masri’s firing is unfolding as county leaders wrestle with how far the marshal-style security role should stretch inside government buildings. In recent years, Dallas County officials have boosted funding and staffing to expand those building-security duties, a move that has already drawn political and legal side-eye.
In 2025, state lawmakers moved to narrow the statutory role of fire marshals to fire investigation and building inspection, prompting county managers to tweak titles and reassign duties in response, as reported by The Dallas Morning News. The Masri personnel case lands squarely in the middle of that broader argument over what the marshal unit should be doing inside county facilities, and what it legally can do.
Commissioners Court Records Map the Money and Staffing
Dallas County Commissioners Court motion sheets and budget documents lay out the ongoing staffing moves and funding decisions that shape the marshal office. Those records show that decisions about who protects county buildings, and how those operations are staffed, ultimately run through the five-member court.
County administrators are now weighing the HR findings against existing contracts and prior court orders as Masri pursues his appeal under county rules. The formal trail for those calls runs through the motion sheets and budget files on record with Dallas County, which will document whatever decision comes next.
Appeal, Legal History and What Could Come Next
Masri’s challenge to his firing will move through Dallas County’s internal personnel system, a process that could lead to administrative hearings and, if either side pushes further, a courtroom fight. The marshal office is no stranger to litigation over its courthouse conduct. It has previously appeared as a defendant or party in cases that scrutinized how it operates inside county facilities, as reflected in filings in vLex on Stein v. Dallas County.
For now, county officials say they are reviewing the HR conclusions and will handle any next moves through standard personnel channels. Whether that ends with a quiet settlement or a loud legal showdown will depend on how hard both sides decide to press their case.
