A Los Angeles police Jail Division sergeant who alleges he was transferred and denied promotions in retaliation for uncovering missed inmate cell checks and other alleged wrongdoing sued the city Tuesday.
Sgt. Ronald Traynor filed the lawsuit in Los Angeles Superior Court, seeking unspecified damages.
An LAPD spokesman declined to comment on the case.
The suit states that Traynor was assigned to the Valley Jail Section as the assistant officer in charge in March 2014. His duties included overseeing employees to see that they were performing their duties, the suit states.
Traynor learned that many cell checks were not occurring and that not all inmates were being properly secured, according to the lawsuit.
Traynor’s investigation of a detention officer “led him to believe that the DO was possibly abusing prescription drugs,” the suit states.
Traynor reported these problems to his supervisors as well as his observations that some detention officers were not making sure that other employees were fulfilling their responsibilities to ensure inmates, the suit states.
A commander responded to some of Traynor’s findings by “screaming at plaintiff that he was not in a position as a sergeant” to make such conclusions, according to the complaint.
The suit states that Traynor was transferred in May to the Metro Jail section in retaliation for coming forward with his concerns about jail operations. He applied for an opening in the Internal Affairs Group, but a lieutenant told him during the interview that “they don’t want any Serpicos here,” the suit states.
Frank Serpico was a New York police officer who exposed corruption within the NYPD in the 1960s and 1970s. Al Pacino portrayed the officer in the 1973 film “Serpico.”
Traynor was denied the IA promotion, the suit states.
Traynor’s findings involved possible violations of federal and state statutes as well as of the Fourth and Eighth Amendments of the Constitution, the suit states. He has suffered physical and emotional suffering as a result of his the alleged mistreatment, the suit alleges.
— Wire reports