A judge Monday dismissed all claims against Los Angeles County in a lawsuit filed by a former assistant sheriff who alleged she was demoted for complaining about the alleged involvement of a deputy in the beating of an inmate — the same deputy who a year earlier was accused of taking photos of the late Kobe Bryant following his fatal helicopter crash in Calabasas in 2020.
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Rupert A. Byrdsong heard arguments Monday on a county motion to dismiss all of plaintiff Robin Limon’s case on civil immunity grounds. The judge briefly took the case under submission and ruled later in the day in favor of the county.
Limon’s complaint also alleged intentional infliction of emotional distress, defamation and violations of the Public Safety Officer’s Bill of Rights. She sought at least $3 million in damages.
According to the suit, then-Sheriff Alex Villanueva retaliated against Limon and other whistleblowers after they exposed Villanueva’s alleged cover-up of the use of excessive force by Deputy Douglas Johnson against an unruly inmate, Enzo Escalante, that was recorded on video in March 2021 at the San Fernando Courthouse.
“Unfortunately, for about three minutes after Escalante was restrained and passive, Johnson held his knee onto Escalante’s neck and restricted his breathing in a fashion like (former Minneapolis police Officer) Derek Chauvin did to George Floyd,” the suit states.
The year before, Johnson achieved “infamy” for having taken photos of the body parts of basketball star Kobe Bryant after he and his 13-year-old daughter, Gianna, died in a January 2020 helicopter accident, the suit stated.
Instead of punishing Johnson, Villanueva promised he would not discipline the deputy if he destroyed the photos, according to the suit. Johnson was later investigated by the LASD Internal Criminal Affairs Bureau for alleged involvement in a gambling and prostitution ring, but he was not fired, according to the suit.
Limon knew that for the sake of the safety of residents, it was imperative for the sheriff to address the Escalante incident immediately and reinforce policies against deputies using excessive force, the suit stated.
After viewing the video, Villanueva said, “We do not need bad media at this time,” the suit alleged.
When Villanueva stated that he wanted to avoid “bad media,” he was thinking about the optics of his deputy committing the same type of excessive force used by Chauvin to murder Floyd and he was concerned about the public fallout for not holding Johnson accountable for previously taking photos of Bryant’s remains, the suit stated.
Villanueva blocked a criminal investigation into the Escalante matter, lied about the incident and later claimed he did not watch the video until November 2021 in order to “fit a fake timeline,” the suit states.
Rather than focusing on criminals and keeping the streets safe for residents, Villanueva and the LASD have been focused on fighting whistleblowers, the suit alleges.
In March 2022, Villanueva told Limon to retire within an hour or be demoted — with either choice assuring her career would end, according to the suit.