The City Attorney’s Office is seeking dismissal of a lawsuit brought by a longtime Los Angeles police officer who alleges he has repeatedly been denied promotions due to his age and Latino ethnicity, saying the plaintiff’s own deposition testimony undermines his case.
In his Los Angeles Superior Court complaint brought against the city, former Police Chief Michel Moore, Cmdr. Ahmad Zarekani and other members of LAPD management, Officer Michael Anthony Estrada alleges that he applied to be a senior lead officer four times from 2019-23. He contends he was denied the promotion on each occasion and told only that the selection process is very competitive.
“Nonetheless, it is known in the LAPD that Cmdr. Zarekani does not want to fill the position with anyone with over 20 years of service in the LAPD and/or with a Hispanic person (but instead) Zarekani only wanted to fill the position with a Black person,” the suit states.
But in court papers filed May 28 with Judge Robert B. Broadbelt in advance of an Oct. 27 hearing, the City Attorney’s Office states that Estrada’s deposition statement that “police officers just talk” indicates the plaintiff bases his claims on hearsay and gossip that Estrada alleges he heard from other unnamed police officers.”
While police officers may indeed “just talk,” Estrada cannot maintain his lawsuit “simply by way of hearsay statements made by unknown declarants,” according to the City Attorney’s Office’s court papers, which further state that Estrada was not promoted for “legitimate, non-discriminatory and non-pretextual reasons.”
Estrada was hired in March 1999. In his suit filed In January 2024, Estrada additionally alleges that he was not compensated for all the hours he worked and that he should have been paid double-time. He also maintains he was not given second meal breaks even though he worked a 12-hour shift and that he was routinely not provided itemized wage statements accurately reflecting his hours worked.
In February 2022, a captain chose a Latina, Janette Roman, over Estrada for senior lead officer because interview panelists rated her highly, the City Attorney’s Office states in its pleadings.
Estrada testified he believed the captain wanted to fill the position with a female, but could not provide any evidence, according to the City Attorney’s Office’s court papers, which further state that another Latino was selected for the senior lead officer opening in September 2023.
“Plaintiff cannot show that these legitimate reasons for his non-selection were untrue or pretextual and (therefore) his case must fail,” the City Attorney’s Office further contends in its court papers.