Los Angeles Sexual Assault Lawyer Blog

Officials with the Los Angeles Police Department are attempting to quell the fervor over a recent Inspector General audit indicating that the city had spent some $110 million in jury awards over the last six years, with nearly a third of those involving LAPD personnel.

Our Los Angeles Sexual Assault Lawyers understand that those cases involved allegations of discrimination, sexual harassment and retaliation.

The revelation of the scope of employment-related litigation at the agency has resulted in an inquiry by the police commission to determine why these figures are so high and what can be done.

The agency is also accused of overseeing a legal affairs department that routinely destroys case files, keeps lawsuit records that are inaccurate and incomplete and has no system in place designed to learn from prior mistakes.

Several weeks after that initial report was issued, the police department has responded to say that the report was out-of-date and that it has already taken effective measures to reduce its liability costs where disgruntled workers are concerned.

Chief Charlie Beck says that the Inspector General was analyzing cases that were closed between 2005 and 2012. However, he said all those allegations were first lodged prior to the fall of 2009, with some of them dating as far back as 1999.

Therefore, Beck said in a response letter to the commission, these were things that didn't happen on his watch. It was the previous administration, he said, that should be held responsible for the issues at hand.

Still, he said department leaders agree with some points of the audit, while countering a number of others.

In addition to the timeline dispute, the police chief also says that the agency doesn't store litigation records on past employment lawsuits because those files are maintained by the city attorney's office. He said there was no need for the police department to continue storing duplicate records, so they were destroyed. However, he contends they are still accessible at the city attorney's office.

Still, some of the police commissioners expressed concerns that files weren't maintained within the department, meaning they weren't accessible to internal personal as a reference. Other commissioners said it wasn't so much an issue of having duplicate copies as having a system in place that could help avoid risk of litigation in the future.

The police department's administrator, in responding to the police commission's inquiry, said that there had already been a steep decline in the amount of employee-related litigation. Eight cases have been filed so far this year, as compared to 31 lawsuits that were filed during fiscal year 2011-2012.

But the police commissioners want to see more action. They have directed the department to set up a meeting with the police unions to establish a mediation program. This would be a forum for disgruntled employees to have their cases heard prior to having them go to trial.

From a plaintiff attorney perspective, it may slow the litigation process to some extent. Alternatively, settlement agreements might be reached sooner.

Continue reading "LAPD Attempts to Defend Employment Litigation Record" »

Allegations of sexual harassment and misconduct have prompted the mayor of San Diego to announce that he would submit to two weeks of intensive behavioral therapy, but he has refused to step down from his seat.

Our Pasadena sexual harassment lawyers understand the 70-year-old mayor, who has been besieged in recent weeks by the allegations, called a news conference in which he apologized to his supporters, his staff, the city and "the women I have offended."

In all, seven women have accused the mayor publicly of sexual harassment. All of them, as well as the the San Diego County Democratic Party, are calling for him to resign from his post.

Instead, he talked about receiving therapy in seclusion, though he reiterated he intended to be briefed each morning and evening about what is happening with the city so that he can continue to make key decisions. He declined to name the treatment facility or explain who would be footing the bill.

To most, it seems like more of a holiday than punishment for harassment. The mayor seems to be living in some alternative reality if he thinks this will right all past alleged wrongs.

Here's what he -- and others who perpetuate this behavior -- need to understand: Sexual harassment is illegal. This is true regardless of whether the instigator admits to wrongdoing.

The mayor concedes he failed to respect women, and over the course of many years engaged in conduct that was intimidating, inexcusable and wrong. He rightly asserted that such actions have undermined what he has spent the bulk of his professional career working toward.

He acknowledged "inappropriate behavior," but insisted that it did not amount to sexual behavior.

Given his age, it's likely that when the mayor entered the workforce, he became acquainted with an atmosphere in which sexual harassment was much more common and, if not entirely accepted, at least tolerated to a degree.

That is no longer the case today, and a two-week hiatus and an apology is not going to be considered a just outcome.

Among some of the allegations being lodged:

• The mayor allegedly asked the one-time communications director to work without panties. He reportedly demanded kisses, told her he wanted to see her naked and dragged her in a headlock while whispering into her ear.


• Another woman said the mayor patted her buttocks.


• A former school psychologist reported that the mayor attempted to kiss her during a meeting regarding a child's welfare. The mayor reportedly told her that her eyes had "bewitched" him.


• The president of the city's Port Tenants Association alleged that, when the mayor was running for office, he had groped her.


• A businesswoman alleged the mayor put her in a headlock and attempted to kiss her. She turned and he slobbered all over her chin.


• The city's former chief operating officer reported the mayor ran his finger up her cheek and asked her if she had a man in her life.


• A dean at San Diego State University reported numerous interactions in which the mayor held her too close, kissed her inappropriately or put his hands on her knee in an inappropriate and uncomfortable fashion. She also reported he was generous with sexual innuendos during conversations.

Thus far, one sexual harassment lawsuit has been filed against the mayor. We suspect more will come, and we have serious doubts about his future political viability.

Continue reading "Southern California Sexual Harassment Case Has Mayor in Hot Seat" »

A bipartisan effort has led to the formation and U.S. Senate passage of a new immigration reform bill, which will now go before the House of Representatives.

While it's uncertain whether the measure will gain enough support to pass, our Los Angeles Sexual Assault Lawyers know that its success thus far has given countless undocumented immigrants across California and the nation a reason to celebrate.

For too long, these individuals have been without a voice, subject in many employment arrangements to some of the worst treatment: long, grueling hours, disparate pay and even sexual harassment and sexual assault.

The latter is a major problem that has existed for many years. And for many years, these victims, mostly female, felt as if they had no choice but to endure. They were threatened with the loss of jobs they desperately needed to feed their children. They were threatened with being reported to immigration authorities. And sometimes, they were threatened with further violence.

Sexual harassment and sexual assault are under-reported crimes. When these actions are thrust upon undocumented farm workers, such wrongdoing is even less likely to be reported. Many are uneducated, in a foreign country where they don't speak English and with little understanding of what sexual harassment is, let alone what rights they have to end it, or to seek justice for what they have endured.

In some cases, the abuse is verbal. Other times, that's just the beginning.

One female farm worker from Salinas, a 40-year-old grandmother who has been toiling in extreme conditions throughout her adult life, is one of the few to speak up. Seven years ago, she was raped by her supervisor. That was the culmination of months of sexual harassment that began with him making sexual innuendos toward her. She tried her best to ignore him. He would ask her for a massage. When she refused, he would try to humiliate her in front of her coworkers.

Then one day, he told her he needed to pick up some boxes as they were headed back from the fields. He turned off into a secluded section of the farm. That, she says, is where he attacked her.

She describes feeling numb, saying she couldn't scream because she was stunned and unsure of how to react.

When it was over, she was afraid to report it to her supervisors. She was forced to see and interact with her rapist daily. Finally, she spoke out and filed a complaint. She was subsequently fired.

She responded by filing a civil lawsuit against the grower. The settlement that was ultimately reached was confidential, meaning she is barred from naming the grower or the amount she was paid.

But she won. She refused to stay silent or back down.

The immigration reform bill is a chance for more undocumented workers to come out of the shadows, to find their voices and to seek justice.

We can help.

Continue reading "California Farm Workers Face Severe Sexual Harassment, Assault Threat" »

Despite a mountain of employment litigation piled year after year against the Los Angeles Police Department, the agency has apparently failed to correct the underlying practices that lead to such action, according to a recent audit.

Our Los Angeles Sexual Assault Lawyers understand that the 10-page report, delivered by the L.A. Police Commission's inspector general, was a stinging one. Among the allegations:

• The police department routinely takes action to destroy case files;


• The agency keeps incomplete and inaccurate information on lawsuits;


• The department lacks a system that would help to identify recurring issues that result in problems among officers.

In other words, despite shelling out sometimes millions of dollars per case, the agency has made little or no effort to make any meaningful changes that would prevent sexual harassment and various kinds of discrimination. As the audit worded it, department administrators "failed to take even basic steps" to reduce the number of lawsuits or, what's more, improve the safety and quality of working environment for the men and women who dedicate their heart and soul - and sometimes sacrifice their lives - to this work.

The inspector general's office tabulated that the city has paid somewhere in the neighborhood of $31 million over the past 5 years to resolve employment-related cases. Those have involved LAPD members who alleged they were victims of retaliation, harassment, discrimination and other forms of misconduct. That portion accounted for nearly one-third of the total $110 million paid out during that timeframe for all LAPD lawsuits. The other two-thirds were for complaints stemming from allegations of excessive force and negligence in traffic crashes.

We don't know what the total liability was in each case because neither the LAPD nor the city attorney's office took the time to track how many hours both attorneys and investigators worked on each case. So while we know the amounts paid out in verdicts and settlements, the actual cost per case is much higher.

Among the recommendations made as a result of the audit was the suggestion to start a mediation program that would involve not only members of LAPD, but also the city attorneys' office and members of the union. The union has said it would be completely on board with such a program, but the agency has yet to announce its support (or rejection) of such a measure.

Another recommendation was that the agency immediately cease its practice of shredding case files as soon as a civil lawsuit is closed. This would help improve the accuracy of the information stored in the agency's case-tracking database, which had been identified as another problem by the inspector.

The agency was also advised to use the lessons learned from lost employment litigation to identify potential pitfalls that often lead to lawsuits. With that information, supervisors should be trained how to handle these kinds of specific problems, should they arise. Generally teaching a course on sexual harassment is a start, but taking a case-in-point, actual issue that the agency recently dealt with and showing how things might have been done differently might be more effective.

Continue reading "LAPD Lawsuits Stack Up, Audit Scolds Failure to Reduce Liability" »

Corruption is top-down and widespread at the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department, according to a lawsuit recently filed by a 10-year veteran of the agency, who claims she lost her job when she made the mistake of telling the truth.

Our Los Angeles sexual assault attorneys understand the allegations in this case are serious, but unfortunately, not altogether surprising.

The claimant worked for more than a decade at the agency. She would have had every reason to remain loyal to the force, as she was a fourth-generation member of law enforcement. Growing up with that kind of background had emboldened her to take on a role rarely pursued by female deputies: gang unit street patrol.

Over the course of that time, she told KABC-Los Angeles that seeds of doubt regarding the integrity of the agency and its deputies began to grow.

Ultimately, it exploded in her face in the wake of a confrontational encounter between her partner, a female suspect and a man who was nearby.

According to the former deputy, she and her partner were on a call when her male law enforcement partner, for reasons that are not yet clear from media reports, allegedly grabbed a female suspect and slammed her against the squad car. To the former deputy's knowledge, that was the extent of the incident.

But hours later, her partner mentioned to a supervisor that he had been choked by a male suspect who had been at the scene.

When the case went to trial, the female deputy refused to back up her partner's claim, despite what she says was significant pressure on her to lie to protect both her partner and the agency from embarrassment. She believes the alleged assault on an officer never happened. She couldn't justify sending an innocent man to prison just so the department could save face.

The jury ultimately acquitted the defendant, and soon after, the female deputy was fired.

She says today that whatever happens with her civil case, she rests easy knowing that she saved an innocent man from several years of prison time.

"That to me is worth it," she said.

Such honor is sadly not always present among the L.A.S.D. ranks. The former deputy now says she firmly believes that the fact that she is a woman has a lot to do with why the agency took the action against her that it did.

She reported on numerous prior occasions when fellow deputies demeaned and ridiculed her. One colleague told her she was "an embarrassment to females." Another told her to make herself useful by making the other deputies some sandwiches. In another instance, she was told she was worthless and ordered to go put on an apron.

A representative for the sheriff's department says that sexual harassment does not exist in the agency. Such a sweeping outright denial in itself is suspect, especially given the agency's recent history of losing and settling a number of high-cost, high-profile sexual harassment claims.

The former deputy said that in addition to personal compensation for the improper loss of her job, she hopes a civil rights investigation will be launched into a number of specific excessive force allegations she is also making.

Continue reading "Widespread Corruption at Los Angeles Sheriff's Department, Alleges Former Deputy" »

A two-year investigation recently concluded by the U.S. Department of Justice has found that sheriff's deputies in the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department's northern sectors of Palmdale and Lancaster routinely used racial bias in subjecting black public housing residents to unnecessary stops, seizures and the use of excessive and unreasonable force, even when individuals were handcuffed.

Our Los Angeles sexual assault attorneys are appalled by what has apparently been allowed to unfold in these regions for years unchecked by higher-ups within the agency.

The Mojave Desert stations, located about 70 miles north of Los Angeles, became the subject of a federal inquiry after a series of similar complaints were lodged by black residents who had recently moved to the area. Virtually all of their stories were the same and involved a violation of their civil rights by officers who had formed an opinion against them primarily on the basis of their skin color and also where they lived.

The report minced no words: The LASD engaged in a pattern of unreasonable force against its minority populace. What's more, of 180 officer misconduct complaints made by residents over the course of 12 months, only one of those complaints was formally investigated internally by the agency.

This is not the first time the agency has come under scrutiny for its interactions with minorities, specifically in the Antelope Valley region. A 2010 report released by the Police Assessment Resources Center found deputies there were more likely to use force in obstruction arrests against minority suspects than with their white counterparts.

The following year, the Community Action League and the NAACP filed suit alleging that deputies in Lancaster and Palmdale were racially discriminant against those who lived in low-income housing areas.

Sheriff Lee Baca has said that he disagrees with the conclusion of the federal report, but nonetheless has "instituted reforms to improve the department." Of course, if nothing was wrong, why would it require improvement?

A spokesman for the department was quoted as saying it firmly denies any allegation of discrimination or racial profiling, saying, "We haven't seen any." Of course, that's easy to say when your agency turns a blind eye to such problems by simply refusing to investigate the claims.

In Palmdale, the city is comprised of two-thirds black residents, according to data from the U.S. Census. It's worth noting that the area of Antelope Valley had the highest rate of alleged hate crimes in Los Angeles County as of 2010, according to federal authorities.

Latino and black residents were more likely than those of any other race to be pulled over and searched. However, most weren't cited, calling into question whether deputies ever had any real probable cause to initiate most of these stops in the first place. Additionally, it was reported that sheriff's deputies, in violation of the Fourth Amendment, routinely placed black suspects in the back of police cruisers for minor offenses.

Among the reforms promised by Baca include re-training deputies on the use-of-force policy and participation in community feedback meetings. Deputies must also carry complaint forms when they are out on patrol. However, it's unclear what good that will do if the agency doesn't take any meaningful steps to alter its approach to actually investigating those complaints.

Continue reading "DOJ: Racism by Los Angeles Sheriff's Deputies Ran Rampant" »

The ex-girlfriend of a Los Angeles County Sheriff's deputy has filed a federal lawsuit against the agency, on behalf of herself and two young daughters, alleging that the agency didn't take her complaints of domestic abuse seriously because of her boyfriend's job.

Our Los Angeles Sexual Assault Lawyers know that nobody is above the law, and an agency that offers special treatment to its own in criminal cases not only breaks its own code of ethics, but also the law.

The complainant asserts that the agency systematically denies justice to victims of domestic violence when the accused is someone who works as a law enforcement officer within the agency.

The complainant says that the deputy, who fathered her two daughters, now ages 11 and 6, began abusing her soon after the birth of their first child, back in 2003. She asserts that she left him for a time, but he begged for her to come back - a cycle with which domestic violence victims are well familiar.

Soon after she moved back in, the deputy reportedly resumed his behavior of drinking heavily, screaming at her and then hitting her. These actions often took place in front of the couple's young children. As such, the older child began to suffer injuries mental and emotional issues, which caused her grades to suffer significantly.

The complainant says that she called the sheriff's department, which had jurisdiction where they lived, to her home on numerous occasions to report the abuse. However, at no point was the accused ever arrested or even scolded by his supervisors. This was despite the fact that she frequently displayed bruises and other injuries to responding officers.

In one instance, she claims that the boyfriend's fellow deputies even assisted him in having her removed from their home, which was jointly-owned, after she called to report him for battering her.

In one specific incident in April 2012, she said her boyfriend began to scream at her for leaving a sandwich in the toaster oven while she was readying herself and the girls for church. In a rage, her boyfriend dumped an entire pot of coffee in the trash, grabbed and twisted her wrist and threw the sandwich at her. When she said she would call the police, her aggressor dared her, saying she would be the one arrested, not him.

She subsequently called her boyfriend's supervisor, a lieutenant, begging him to have someone come help. An officer arrived and, as the boyfriend had threatened, said she could be arrested for battery because the boyfriend alleged that she had thrown the sandwich at him. The officer reportedly refused to get statements from the children and told her to "stop acting like a victim" and simply leave if it was so bad.

Of course, anyone who has endured an abusive relationship knows it's not always so simple. In fact, leaving a relationship is often the most dangerous time.

The responding officer then told her if she did not pack her bags and leave the home, she would be arrested.

Other instances of abuse involved being struck in the eye with a large book, being threatened while her boyfriend drove drunk and recklessly and his refusal to transport her daughter to the hospital after she suffered a broken arm.

Yet after each reported incident, the responding officers sided with her boyfriend.

Her lawsuit seeks an injunction against him, as well as a declaratory judgment for battery, assault and gender violence.

Continue reading "L.A. Sheriff's Spouse Alleges Domestic Abusers Given "Free Pass"" »

The female officer was still a rookie when a lieutenant was transferred to her precinct in New York City.

It was then she alleges that the sexual harassment began.

Our Los Angeles Sexual Assault Lawyers know that cases of inappropriate behavior toward female officers by their colleagues are not limited to the West Coast. Examples are found all over the country - though this is a particularly egregious one.

We also know that these lawsuits take courage to file. For most officers, especially females and especially newer officers, there is an extreme reticence to take this action. Even when they know what is happening is unacceptable, they don't want to be seen as weak or unable to handle it on their own.

However, when superior officers target them for consistent harassment, the effects are damaging not only psychologically and emotionally, but professionally as well. Refusing to submit to sexual demands or requests can result in negative consequences on the job. Those might include retaliatory actions such as reduced hours, undesirable assignments or intensified scrutiny.

Department leaders have historically taken the side of the superior officer, therefore casting the complainant as a "trouble maker" in an attempt to make her less credible.

All of this is why it's advisable for someone suffering from sexual harassment to consult with a lawyer before you even file a complaint with your employer. We are your advocates, and even if we don't get directly involved right away, we can advise you on the best steps to take to document the incidents and ensure they are appropriately documented and reported. That way, if swift, decisive action isn't taken, you have a stronger civil case to take to court.

In this case, the newly-transferred lieutenant reportedly wasted no time in targeting the victim. Soon after meeting her, he invited her to his home for dinner, mentioning that his wife would not be home. The rookie, who was also married, declined.

He made repeated comments about her body, which she tried to brush off. When she returned from taking a sick leave he grabbed her in an awkward embrace that lasted several beats too long.

Another time, he began massaging her shoulders, an action at which she said she instantly recoiled. He responded by chastising her about whether she liked white men (she is black).

He later made it a point to brag to her about how the chief was his "boy."

All of this would have more than constituted enough for a complaint. However, she didn't file a formal one with the agency until he reportedly ran his hand suggestively down her back. When she snapped at him to ask what he was doing, he responded he was checking to see if she was wearing a bullet-proof vest.

After that, the lieutenant ordered her to seek a psychological evaluation for "anxiety." The agency therapist said she was drinking excessively to deal with stress and ordered her to go to rehab. She refused, and was subsequently suspended for one month.

The lieutenant was later docked about a week's worth of vacation time for failing to maintain professional decorum in the workplace, but other than that, has remained in his position within the department.

Continue reading "Rookie Cop Files Sexual Harassment Lawsuit Against Lieutenant " »

The chief of police for the Newport Beach Police Department is embroiled in a sexual harassment claim involving a former dispatcher, also the wife of a fired officer.

Our Los Angeles Sexual Assault Lawyers know that victims in these situations have often endured so much by the time they turn to the courts for justice. This case appears to be no different.

The victim's basic claim is that she was not only sexually harassed by the chief, but also discriminated against and then wrongfully terminated. The lawsuit names both the city and the police department, but the majority of the allegations are directed squarely at the chief.

The chief, city manager and city attorney all deny the claims made in the complaint, filed recently in the Orange County Superior Court, though such denials are boilerplate in the beginning stages of a sexual harassment case.

The former dispatcher says that she had worked with the city since 1990, going to part-time beginning in 2001.

Then in 2011, her husband, a police officer with the city, was fired. Prior to his termination, he had testified on behalf of a sergeant who had alleged mistreatment by both colleagues and superiors because the sergeant was gay. Prior to that testimony, the officer had been given great reviews, as well as a number of awards and commendations. Subsequent to his testimony, however, the officer was the subject of numerous internal investigations that he said were clearly retaliatory. His colleagues called him a traitor. After he was fired, he filed suit against the city last year, alleging retaliation and wrongful termination.

It was following his filing of a lawsuit that his wife says the chief began to harass her. In one instance, the chief reportedly called the dispatcher into his office to discuss her husband's conduct. One of the allegations that had been made against her husband involved improper use of city computers to view pornography while on duty - a charge her husband had denied. During that one-on-one closed-door session, the dispatcher says the chief sat within inches of her and attempted during that time to physically intimidate her.

In the months after that, she says there were a number of other occasions when the chief proceeded to harass her. In another encounter, he approached her dispatch console and again stood within inches of her and told her that he "really liked" her.

These actions understandably had her feeling intimidated and uncomfortable. She reported them to her supervisor, she says, but nothing was done.

Then one day, she handled a 911 call that she says was severely emotionally distressful. She asked for a few minutes to herself. The supervisor would later report that her conduct was "disruptive" to the rest of the staff.

Policy would have dictated that after such an incident she be directed to speak with a psychologist. However, that did not happen and several months later, it was on the basis of her actions that day that she says the department moved to fire her.

This case shows that sexual harassment need not include quid pro quo demands for sex or even necessarily physical touching. The events described here, however, could meet the criteria for the establishment of a hostile work environment.

Some other examples of sexual hostile work environment harassment are:

• Leering;


• Offensive remarks about body parts, clothing or looks;


• Touching in a manner that makes the employee uncomfortable;


• Telling sexual jokes, hanging lewd posters or making sexually-suggestive gestures;


• Forwarding sexually-explicit e-mails, notes or images.

Sexual harassment comes in many different forms. If you believe you may be a victim, do not hesitate to call us today to learn more about how we can help.

Continue reading "Sexual Harassment Claim Involves Police Chief, Dispatcher" »

A Los Angeles County sheriff's deputy may face criminal charges, as well as a possible civil lawsuit, for his alleged abuse of an inmate who was serving as an informant to federal investigators.

Our Los Angeles police brutality attorneys understand that the deputy in question reportedly targeted the inmate solely because he was providing information to agents with the Federal Bureau of Investigation regarding an international drug trafficking operation.

Last July, the inmate, who had been assigned a number of handlers, revealed that the deputy in question had punched him in both the ribs and torso. At the time, the deputy reportedly chastised the informant, saying he was no one special and threatening to cause him further physical harm if they were ever alone in a room together for any extended length of time.

This is not the first time the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department has been hounded with allegations of staff-inflicted violence on inmates. Two years ago, Sheriff Lee Baca acknowledged that brutality at the jail - the nation's largest - was a problem.

However, the Los Angeles Times learned there were documents revealing that officials had known about the abuse and misconduct for potentially years prior. Cases involved numerous allegations of excessive force, for which no one was ever punished.

An audit found that in a single year, there were at least 100 violent encounters between inmates and deputies after which it was learned that deputies had "dramatized" the circumstances of what had occurred in order to justify their use of excessive force.

In other cases, deputies delayed stepping in with weapons that could end violent physical fights between inmates. The goal, the report indicated, was to ensure "jailhouse justice" was carried out before authorities stepped in.

Some of the violence inflicted by deputies against inmates was reportedly triggered by a display of disrespect by the inmate. But in many cases, no matter how severe the injury, supervisors failed to interview all relevant witnesses or implement any discipline for the deputies. And out of four cases in which additional training was ordered, only two of the deputies actually bothered to go.

So it is amid this backdrop that we have the most recent incident.

A number of others backed the inmate's story, including one deputy who reported that he was on the other side of a wall when he heard what sounded like a confrontation between the informant and the deputy. The deputy reported that when he rounded that corner, he saw his colleague pinning the informant against the wall, and the informant in tears.

Jail records reveal that the informant had proven a reliable source for information on the operations of a significant drug-smuggling ring, which had recently led to a six-figure bust.

A spokesman for the sheriff's office said that an internal investigation by the agency had been completed and that, at least for the time being, the deputy had been relegated to a desk job, while criminal prosecutors determine their next move. It was unclear whether the deputy's alleged abuse had any effect on the informant's ability to continue to assist federal authorities.

It's not even the first time this particular deputy has been accused of mistreatment. Another inmate said the deputy had elbowed him hard in the ribs, following a perceived slight, and then threatened to shock him with a Taser.

The deputy is also accused of threatening another fellow deputy with physical harm, though it's not clear what that encounter entailed.

Continue reading "Los Angeles Deputy Accused of Brutality Against Inmate Informant" »

Alleging a massive and ongoing violation of public privacy, the American Civil Liberties Union and the Electronic Frontier Foundation have filed suit against both the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department and the Los Angeles Police Department.

The groups say that the lawsuit stems from the agencies' ongoing use of license plate-reading devices, which are affixed to patrol vehicles.

Our Los Angeles sexual assault attorneys know that these tiny cameras are on constant alert, routinely scanning the license plates of passing vehicles and comparing them to criminal databases. The primary goal, police say, is to search for stolen vehicles or vehicles that are registered to those with felony warrants.

Police agencies have not been shy about praising the technology, saying that it allows them to catch more stolen vehicle suspects than they ever would on their own. The cameras also tabulate the exact location of the vehicle and the time at which it was recorded, which can allow officers to track suspects, even if they launch a search months or possibly years after the vehicle was spotted.

However, the lawsuit maintains that in doing so, the police have stored information that amounts to a violation of privacy. The issue is not so much the initial scan. Rather, it's the storing of that information indefinitely into a database, regardless of whether those license plates scanned were connected to vehicles or individuals suspected of involvement in a crime.

The ACLU and the EFF are demanding that if law enforcement agencies are going to continue collecting this information, they should destroy it within a matter of weeks if it is deemed not useful for the purposes of a pointed criminal investigation.

The argument is that, while the benefit for law enforcement agencies of hanging onto this information is miniscule, the potential privacy violations of law-abiding citizens are numerous, particularly because these records are kept for anywhere from five years to indefinitely.

While law enforcement officials have declined to speak about the case since the filing of the lawsuit, LAPD Chief Charlie Back has previously defended the practice, saying that it has "unlimited potential" for investigators. The chief went on to say in one interview that the information collected by these scans may not only connect the vehicles or suspects to crimes that have already occurred, but to crimes that will yet occur.

So now we are investigating crimes that haven't happened yet? That's an extremely troubling precedent.

The LASO has nearly 80 police cruisers that are equipped with these devices, although little more than half of those are in working order right now. The rest are undergoing upgrades to improve the storage capabilities. Additionally, there are nearly 50 fixed cameras that are positioned at various locations throughout the county.

The LAPD has said it has about 100 of the devices.

They are certainly not alone in their practice. A survey last year conducted by the Police Executive Research Forum found that 7 out of 10 police agencies in the country employ these same devices.

The lawsuit was filed after the two privacy groups requested that the agencies turn over one week's worth of the data collected in the search. The agencies responded by saying that it didn't have to do so, because the information gathered was investigative. This, despite the fact that much off the information collected is culled automatically, with no connection to any specific investigation.

The privacy groups are confident that a release of the data from this short window will reveal how much peoples' privacy is being violated.

Continue reading "Los Angeles Sheriff's Department Sued for Violating Privacy" »

The family of a man who was unarmed when he was fatally shot by two Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department deputies has filed a $15 million lawsuit against the agency and the county, alleging civil rights violations and wrongful death.

Our Los Angeles sexual assault attorneys understand the victim's widow has two little girls who will now grow up without their father. Authorities have said that they believed the 36-year-old was reaching for a gun as he got out of the vehicle following a short chase that ended in Willowbrook. That, the deputies say, is why they fired.

Filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court, the lawsuit alleges the two responding deputies shot their guns at the unarmed man while he stood with his hands above his head. As such, the homicide was both unjustified and unreasonable. The lawsuit indicates that witnesses and autopsy reports both back a different version of events than the one told by the deputies, who the widow's attorney described as "trigger happy." The bullets that took his life, the lawsuit alleges, were discharged at him from behind, and the wounds on his right forearm indicates his hands were up at the time those shots were fired.

The autopsy report indicates he was shot five times in both the lower and upper back.

The lawsuit alleges that the deputies actions were either intentional or negligent.

The sheriff's office is conducting its own internal investigation while the two deputies have been removed from active duty - standard procedure when a deputy is involved in an on-duty death.

From there, criminal prosecutors will make a determination on whether the action was legal.

Initial reports from the sheriff's office were that the deputies only opened fire on the man after he "made movements like he had a gun" and then turned around quickly, as if to run. Why deputies would shoot him for running is unclear, especially because he was not suspected of any violent offense.

Accounts are that on the night in question he was riding in the passenger seat of his brother's vehicle. The two were leaving the quinceañera of the victim's niece and were on their way home. It was shortly before 10:30 p.m. at the time.

An officer attempted to stop the vehicle for speeding. It's unclear why the brother did not stop immediately, but in any case, the "chase" did not go on for long. The victim then got out of the vehicle.

A woman watching from across the street from her bedroom window said that the victim complied with deputies' orders to stop running. He put his hands on his head. The officers said the victim reached for his waistband. The witness didn't see that. Instead, she said, she watched as deputies fired several rounds into the victim's back.

The brother then put the car in drive again and once again sped away, causing more cruisers to give chase. He was later arrested without incident.

Continue reading "LASD Faces $15M Lawsuit After Deputy Fatally Shoots Unarmed Man" »

The Los Angeles Sheriff's Department is once again the target of a civil lawsuit, this one by two deputies who had been part of a jail gang intelligence unit.

Our Los Angeles harassment lawyers understand that the two were reportedly working with a special unit in the agency when they learned that a number of department personnel were allegedly involved in illegal gangs at the jail.

Upon their release of this information, they say they were harassed, retaliated against, and prosecuted out of malice. The deputies have filed suit against the county, the sheriff, the undersheriff, and two other members of the department.

The two plaintiffs say they had been assigned to a unit called Operation Safe Jails. This unit was responsible for getting inmates to become informants, in a broader effort to curb violence between the many rival gangs that thrive inside jails.

In the course of their work, the deputies allegedly learned that at the Men's Central Jail in downtown L.A., another deputy was reportedly working closely with a gang member belonging to a white supremacist group, while a custody assistant was working with another prison gang. In effect, these employees had allegedly become powerful agents in assisting these gangs in meeting some of their end goals.

In the case of the custody assistant, a lieutenant turned over the case for investigation. An employee recently pleaded guilty to accepting a bribe in exchange for smuggling cocaine inside the jail.

However, the evidence turned over against the deputy reportedly fell on deaf ears. The lieutenant declined to pursue an investigation, instead allegedly presenting the deputy in question with the memo written by the two investigating deputies.

The goal, the plaintiffs say, was not only to intimidate them in order to prevent further investigations along those lines, but also to allow the subject of the investigation time to cover up any illegal actions.

From that point on, the two plaintiffs say they suffered harassment and threats from other deputies. One of the plaintiffs had received a DUI, and the dash camera video was posted online. Additionally, that DUI charge was boosted from a misdemeanor to a felony, allegedly without cause.

The mistreatment they suffered went beyond even harassment and malicious prosecution, they say. The lives of one of their key informants was purposely endangered, they said, after he was moved without cause from protective custody into the general population, where it was well-known he would be vulnerable to serious attack.

The plaintiffs claim that high-ranking officials within the agency, including the sheriff, blatantly ignored the safety concerns they raised, dismissed their warnings about deputies pairing up with jail gang members, and attempted to circumvent an investigation initiated by the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI).

The lawsuit claimed that the agency took exceptional measures to hide a certain inmate from the FBI, which sought to question him in the case of the deputy alleged to be associated with the white supremacist group.

The deputies said their own lives were threatened, and they were called "snitches" and "race traitors." They accuse both the lieutenant and the undersheriff of being a part of a gang called the Vikings, which was allegedly a racist police gang that was an extension of the prison gang. Members of the law enforcement gang reportedly had the gang's symbol tattooed somewhere on their bodies.

The two plaintiffs are seeking compensation in the form of penalties and damages, including lost and future wages.

Continue reading "Los Angeles Sheriff's Department Sued for Harassment, Retaliation" »

In his campaign to become city controller, Councilman Dennis Zine has said that his top priority would be to audit the risk management division of the Los Angeles Police Department, in an effort to determine why the agency has had so many officers recently embroiled in litigation.

Our Los Angeles sexual assault attorneys are encouraged by this pledge of action. However, according to news reports, it comes from a man who himself was the subject of a sexual harassment claim back in 1997, when he was a sergeant for the department.

In the last several years, the city has reportedly spent more than $50 million just on legal settlements. Zine has said that if officers were better supervised by their commanders, many of these situations could have been curbed before they went out of control.

Between 2006 and 2012, the city spent nearly $101 million on lawsuits. A little less than half of that was given to plaintiffs who had alleged either police misconduct or civil rights violations. Those kinds of allegations comprised the largest portion of payouts.

But the second-largest portion involved employee-on-employee complaints. For those, the city reportedly shelled out nearly $32 million, according to a report released by the chief legislative officer of the city.

And these kinds of cases have only increased in recent years.

However, they weren't nearly as common during the time period in which Zine was accused of his wrongdoing. At the time, it was alleged that he had asked a female subordinate officer to attend a work-related function with him in Canada.

Zine allegedly contended the two were dating. The female officer said they were merely friends. He later admitted that he had made romantic overtures toward her over the course of the trip. However, he insisted he never acted improperly.

Among the claims of harassment against Zine was that he had put a handful of condoms and a container of urine in the female officer's suitcase after she had refused his advances. Other officers would later say they had done this as a prank, though it was never clear what their motive may have been.

On another occasion, it was alleged that Zine climbed into the female officer's bed one night and rubbed himself against her. They had been sharing a hotel room during the trip. When she demanded that he get out, he did.

Such wildly inappropriate advances from a supervisor to a subordinate on a work-related trip, if they took place, could hardly be viewed as anything but sexual harassment.

Although an internal investigation resulted in Zine being cleared off the allegations, the disciplinary panel said that this was "hardly vindication" for the sergeant, as his actions had displayed incredibly poor judgment. Furthermore, those actions resulted in taxpayers having to pay $60,000 to defend the city against a civil action brought by the female officer. In the end, both parties reached an undisclosed settlement amount.

Still, Zine insists that all of that is irrelevant because he was technically cleared of the charges.

Plus, he said his case was of little consequence, considering that others' cases have cost the city millions of dollars - only to see the employees accused of wrongdoing later promoted. This is the professional culture that Zine has reportedly taken issue with, and that he has pledged to investigate.

Continue reading "L.A. Police Department Lawsuits to be Probed, Vows Candidate" »

The Los Angeles Unified School District failed to stop its superintendent from sexually harassing a male subordinate, according to a recently filed lawsuit.

Our Los Angeles Sexual Assault Lawyers understand that the district is also accused of sexual discrimination, public disclosure of private facts and intentional and negligent infliction of emotional distress.

If this case sounds familiar, that's probably because it's been in the spotlight for the last year.

The manager, who continues to serve as the director of leasing and asset management, was hired by the district back in 2000. His lawsuit alleges that this is when problems first began.

The former superintendent reportedly did not require the claimant to be interviewed or go through the normal hiring procedures that the district requires.

This fact should have been a red flag to other school administrators of the superintendent's ill intentions, the claimant says, calling such action an "abuse of authority."

In the fall of 2010, the plaintiff alleges that he was invited to the superintendent's ranch home for the weekend. Although the request made him uncomfortable, he felt that because it was extended by his boss, he had little choice.

While there, the plaintiff says that the superintendent exposed himself to him and then proceeded to sexually assault him.

The superintendent would later say the interactions were mutual.

On at least three occasions, the plaintiff says he complained to the district, the final time alerting the district's general counsel after the superintendent had begun calling him at home. The plaintiff lodged a complaint. Nothing happened. No investigation. No reprimand.

In fact, the district urged him to simply drop it. As the plaintiff put it, the general counsel "actively lulled (him) into silence" by stringing him along, yet refusing to actually initiate a sexual harassment investigation.

By March of last year, the plaintiff had had enough. He filed a notice that he would be filing a claim.

Within two months, the school district had announced the Board of Education had agreed to settle for $200,000 with the manager, as well as to provide lifetime health benefits, in exchange for his resignation. But there was a problem: The claimant says not only did he not sign off on that deal, the district actively engaged in public shaming by naming him in a press release, something he believes was done maliciously.

The public fall-out of this action was brutal, with the plaintiff subjected to widespread public scrutiny and humiliation.

While the plaintiff had initially filed a lawsuit directly against the superintendent, that was later dismissed on a technicality. This new lawsuit names the district directly.

The 79-year-old superintendent retired the year after the alleged incident occurred.

The plaintiff is still working at the district, though it's unclear how long that may last. He says that not only have his work-related responsibilities been slashed significantly, but the district has also been retaliatory, on several occasions attempting to fire him.

Continue reading "Sexual Harassment Prevention Failures by LAUSD, Manager Says" »