A former Harvard security guard yesterday said supervisors mistreated him during his tenure at the University and fired him because he is Hispanic.

Rolando Daiz, who worked as a guard from January 25 to June 22, 1989, said Donald Behenna, security supervisors, often singled him out for verbal abuse because he is Hispanic.

Diaz also said Robert J. Dowling manager of operations for police and security, misled him about his career prospects and fired him because of his national origin.

Dowling and Behenna, who are white, said yesterday they were seeking legal counsel and refused to answer all questions.

Harvard Police Chief Paul E. Johnson and Vice President and General Counsel Daniel Steiner '54 could not be reached for comment on Daiz's case last night.

Diaz is the second guard this week to say he has encountered racial harassment in the security division. A Black guard said earlier this week that Dowling and Behenna harassed him between January and July of 1991.

Diaz a Cambridge resident who is a citizen of El Salvador, said Behenna often cursed at him, laughed at this questions, and on there orfour occasions made derogatory references to hisethnic background.

"Many time she spoke to me rudely--muchdifferent than white security guards," said Diaz."He spoke to me like I've never seen before in mylife."

According to documents obtained by The Crimson,Diaz filed a grievance with the Service EmployeesInternational Union on June 26, 1989, four daysafter he was fired.

Alleged Comment

According to the documents, union officialsattempted to demonstrate discrimination by citinga comment allegedly made by Dowling during aconversation with Diaz's then-wife, Karen McReady.

In an interview yesterday, McReady said she metwith Dowling about two weeks before herex-husband's dismissal. According to McReady.Dowling said he might try to find a University jobfor Diaz where he could "be with his own kind."

Diaz also filed a complaint with theMassachusetts Commission Against Discrimination(MCAD) on February 1, 1990 according to MCADexecutive assistant Jane Brayton. The state agencydismissed the complaint for "lack of probablecause" in July 1990, Brayton said.

Communication Problem

In response to the complaint, UniversityAttorney Dianne M. Irving told MCAD in March 1990that Diaz was fired because he had problemsspeaking English.

The Police Department's "decision to terminateMr. Diaz was based entirely on his inability todemonstrate that he was sufficiently proficient inEnglish to perform his job duties satisfactorily,"according to a copy of the response.