A Los Angeles police officer who says a sergeant mocked her pregnancy in the presence of other officers says she deserves a trial of her lawsuit despite the city’s contention that her case should be dismissed because she didn’t suffer adverse treatment or severe harassment.
The City Attorney’s Office previously filed court papers with Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Kristin Escalante stating that the LAPD took quick action when Officer Serena Zavala reported her concerns even though the department believes no discrimination occurred, and that the plaintiff’s case should be thrown out during a hearing scheduled Aug. 26.
But in a sworn declaration filed Thursday in opposition to the city’s dismissal motion, Zavala says the conduct she allegedly experienced from the sergeant was “both severe and pervasive as I understand those terms from my anti-discrimination and retaliation training given by the department.”
The allegedly hostile work environment has “materially affected my ability to do my job, damaged my career and caused significant physical and emotional harm to both me and my unborn child, and also harmed my husband and his career, which in turn harms me,” Zavala says.
Zavala’s baby was born in March 2022 and she is married to fellow LAPD Officer Jose Zavala. Hired in 2016 and assigned to the 77th Street Station, the plaintiff was five months pregnant in November 2021 when she heard a sergeant mention her name with the use of an expletive, according to the suit. The same sergeant asked two other officers in his presence whether Zavala was on “light duty” due to a urinary tract infection, according to the suit.
When one of the other officers responded that Zavala’s light duty level was due to her being pregnant, the sergeant replied, “Oh well, when she comes back, I’ll punch her in the gut a few times because she deserves it,” the suit alleges.
“Plaintiff was shocked at these statements and viewed them in total to be a credible threat upon her person and her unborn child,” according to the suit, which also states that Zavala believed the alleged remarks violated LAPD rules and the city’s policy of not tolerating gender harassment or discrimination.
Zavala complained to management about the sergeant’s alleged statements and an LAPD captain said he also considered the remarks to be “harassment” and a “serious criminal threat,” the suit states.
Zavala’s health and emotional state have been negatively impacted by the sergeant’s alleged remarks and she believes she was discriminated against and harassed because she was pregnant, the suit filed in July 2022 states.
However, in their court papers urging dismissal of Zavala’s case lawyers for the City Attorney’s Office state that in May 2020, the plaintiff was involved in a use-of-force incident that resulted in the sergeant reviewing body cam video of the incident. During that review, the sergeant saw Zavala kissing her husband, which the sergeant reported, according to the City Attorney’s Office.
“Thereafter, plaintiff claims that (the sergeant) began rolling his eyes at her, making scoffing noises and sneering and glaring at her,” the City Attorney’s Office further states in its court papers.
The City Attorney’s Office denies that the sergeant engaged in such conduct, but also contends that even if he did so there is “zero evidence” that he did it because of Zavala’s gender. Nonetheless, the sergeant was assigned to home duty and discipline was handed down in December 2022 after an investigation, the City Attorney’s Office’s court papers state.
Zavala did not suffer an adverse employment action because she was not terminated, demoted or denied a job for which she was qualified, the city’s court papers further state.
But Zavala says she believes many of the men involved in handling her complaint against the sergeant did not give her any credibility or interview her before the case was adjudicated.
“I believed everybody involved, including the witnesses and the sergeant investigating, were all friends with (the harassing sergeant) which is why the investigation was ultimately favorable to him despite the LAPD’s claimed zero tolerance policy against sex/gender/pregnancy harassment, discrimination and related retaliation,” Zavala says.
Zavala says she has considered leaving the LAPD and looked into pensions, deferred compensation and even recruitment in case she left and had to return to the department.
“The damage is to my reputation in the LAPD is a result of LAPD’s culture, in which it is frowned upon for an officer to make complaints against other officers,” Zavala says. “This ordeal will follow me for the rest of my career.”