A judge has ruled that a Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department sergeant can proceed for now with his claim he was subjected to retaliation by a captain who believed the plaintiff’s military service interfered with his work with the department.
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Maurice A. Leiter on Wednesday rejected the county’s argument that Sgt. Scott Reynal should not be proceeding with a lawsuit when the same the same issues are currently before the Los Angeles County Civil Service Commission. The county asked that the suit be stayed so that it would not have to litigate Reynal’s case in two different forums.
However, the judge said that Reynal’s complaint does not mention the Civil Service Commission adjudication and that the county also “provides no judicially noticeable evidence of its existence.”
Reynal was promoted to sergeant in October 2021 and is a member of the U.S. Army National Guard. In March 2023, the captain of the Century Station, where Reynal worked, told the plaintiff he was being transferred to the East Los Angeles station because “He was always gone for the military, or words to that effect,” the suit states.
Reynal filed a complaint with the department and within days his transfer was canceled, according to the suit. However, the Century Station captain responded by showing the plaintiff hostility and ostracization, by maligning his reputation and by causing him to be disciplined for trivial things, the suit further alleges.
Based on the captain’s alleged actions, Reynal was relieved of duty and assigned to his home in January 2024, then two months later was suspended without pay for 15 days, the suit filed Jan. 23 states.