A Los Angeles Police Department detective captain has reached a tentative settlement of her lawsuit alleging a captain who was awarded $4 million in 2022 by jurors after the internal circulation of a photo of a nude woman falsely purported to be the captain had also harassed the plaintiff while she was the detective’s supervisor.
Detective Cecilia Cleveland’s Los Angeles Superior Court lawsuit alleged whistleblower retaliation, harassment, discrimination and failure to prevent discrimination, harassment and retaliation. Despite Cleveland’s allegations against Capt. Lillian Carranza, the captain is not a named defendant in the detective’s suit.
“This is a case where an LAPD captain has caused havoc throughout the Los Angeles Police Department, sinking her teeth into one hapless victim after another,” the suit stated. “Cecilia is the latest in a long line of victims suffering with discrimination, harassment and retaliation.”
On Thursday, Cleveland’s attorneys notified Judge Robert B. Broadbelt of a “conditional” settlement of the case with the expectation a request for dismissal will be filed by Aug. 5. No terms were divulged and it was not immediately clear if the accord is subject to final approval by the City Council.
In their court papers, the City Attorney’s Office stated that Cleveland’s claims were barred wholly or in part by the statute of limitations and that the city was immune from her claims.
Cleveland, like Carranza longtime LAPD veteran, was assigned to the Gang and Narcotics Division from 2006-22 and had a positive experience there until Carranza became her boss in October 2021, the suit stated.
After Carranza’s arrival, Cleveland was humiliated, demeaned and set up for failure by disparate treatment, according to the suit, which further alleged Carranza “is well known to attack and retaliate against different employees, including those of different races or national origins than her.”
During the first month of Carranza’s arrival, the captain issued Cleveland a notice-to-correct and placed her on a 90-day special review after hearing the plaintiff use an expletive, falsely claiming it was uttered in a disrespectful way, the suit stated.
Cleveland refused to sign the notice and filed an internal grievance and thereafter, Carranza focused on Cleveland and harassed her, in one instance ordering a lieutenant under her command to move the plaintiff’s desk to an area where the scent of police dog urine and defecation was evident, the suit alleged.
After intentionally leaving the unit so short-staffed in December 2021 that the work could not be completed, Carranza and the lieutenant questioned Cleveland’s alleged lack of productivity and why supervisor log entries were supposedly so thin, according to the suit.
Carranza filed a total of three personnel complaints against Cleveland with an additional allegation of conduct unbecoming of an officer, the first time the plaintiff had encountered such negative disciplinary actions since joining her unit, the suit stated.
The city’s Employee Relations Group mediated the Cleveland-Carranza dispute and all disciplinary actions were either rescinded or downgraded, but the retaliation continued, the suit states. Cleveland was forced to leave her coveted assignment in order to avoid further discipline due to Carranza’s alleged actions and the plaintiff also was demoted, the suit filed in October 2022 alleged.
In subsequent court papers, Cleveland’s attorneys alleged that their client also was retaliated against for reporting that an LAPD lieutenant who was a friend of Carranza sought overtime for work not performed.
The alleged backlash consisted of increased scrutiny, ostracism, false write-ups, discipline, notices to correct conduct, negative evaluations, suspensions without pay, damaged reputation and impairment of future earning capacity, the plaintiffs’ lawyers court papers stated.
In September 2022, Carranza won her own harassment case concerning the nude photo distribution. Carranza alleged that the department did not do enough to prevent the emotional distress she said she subsequently suffered after being told about the image in late 2018. She further said the LAPD denied her request that a department-wide statement be put out confirming that she was not the person in the photo.