A judge say he will review internal Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department personnel records for possible release to attorneys for a Black Los Angeles County sheriff’s sergeant who alleges he was retaliated against for complaining of racial discrimination.
Sgt. Reginald Hoffman also maintains he suffered a backlash for speaking out against the reputed presence of members of the Banditos gang of deputies at the East Los Angeles Station. The sergeant’s Los Angeles Superior Court lawsuit was filed in November 2022 and amended in October 2023, alleging racial discrimination, failure to prevent discrimination, harassment and retaliation.
In addition to the county, Hoffman is suing Cmdr. Richard Mejia and Capt. Pilar Chavez. On Tuesday, Judge Upinder S. Kalra said that on Aug. 4 he will review in chambers some of the records sought by Hoffman’s lawyers and decide which, if any, should be produced to the plaintiff.
In their court papers, Hoffman’s attorneys sought three sets of internal documents in advance of the scheduled Sept. 14 trial. First, the sergeant requests the full records of the Internal Criminal Investigations Bureau investigation initiated against the plaintiff and deputies he supervised on what Hoffman maintains are false time card fraud charges.
Second, the Hoffman wants the full records of the related Internal Affairs Bureau administrative investigation that the LASD subsequently initiated against the sergeant and his team members on the same time card allegations. Third, Hoffman is requesting information and all IAB records regarding two separate Personnel of Equity complaints filed against Chavez by other LASD employees at the East Los Angeles Station that also allege harassment and retaliation.
“Sgt. Hoffman has reported deputy gang activity, the protection of the racist Banditos gang at the East Los Angeles Station and the rigging of promotional processes against him because he is, in defendant Chavez’s own words, a “Black man” and a “whistleblower,” Hoffman’s attorneys state in their court papers.
The plaintiff further maintains his complaints about the presence of the “Banditos” at the East Los Angeles Station ultimately caused 17 members of the alleged internal clique of deputies to be transferred.
“Sgt. Hoffman blew the whistle … about the gang’s illegal activity and continued dominance at the station,” the suit states.
In his ruling, Kalra said Hoffman’s motion was being granted in part for review by the judge, but the court minute order was not more specific.
In their previous court papers, county attorneys denied Hoffman’s allegations, said he had not suffered damages, contended that his claims are barred wholly or in part by the statute of limitations and said that any department actions taken concerning him were done with “proper managerial discretion.”
While at the East Los Angeles sheriff’s station, Hoffman supervised and devised the station’s tactical plans for the celebrations after the Dodgers’ National League Championship and World Series victories and the Lakers’ NBA Finals run, both in 2020, as well as the Rams’ 2022 Super Bowl win, according to the suit.
Although former Sheriff Alex Villanueva is not a defendant in the suit, Hoffman’s complaint alleges what while in office Villanueva wage a “race war” against Black LASD members and “engaged in grand scale racial discrimination” against Blacks who wanted to be hired.
Hoffman believes Villanueva “rigged the hiring process to hire more Latino deputies aimed clearly at the expense” of Black applicants in order to achieve a ratio more favorable to Latinos than Blacks, the suit states.
Hoffman took the lieutenants’ promotion exam in August 2021 and scored high marks, but was later told on appeal after being denied that he did not have enough time spent as a sergeant, the suit states. Hoffman contends that Mejia harassed him for years beginning in 2019 because of the plaintiff’s race and played a role in his being passed over for promotions to lieutenant and detective sergeant, the suit states.
Villanueva has ratified the Latino supervisor’s alleged misconduct by promoting him from captain to commander, according to the suit.
The suit makes note of the audio recording of one former and two current Los Angeles City Council members and a union president, some of whom made racist statements about Blacks and others.
“Arguably, Villanueva and his inner circle have made worse racist statements that cut far deeper than those made in that infamous City Council meeting that has led to resignations,” the suit states.
Racism has “long permeated the culture in LASD,” but Villanueva “inflamed it,” the suit alleges.