One of a half-dozen Whittier police officers who sued the city alleging they were subjected to a backlash for complaining about having to meet what they believed were unlawful traffic citation and arrest quotas can take his case to trial, a judge ruled Wednesday.
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Howard Halm, ruling on the individual case of Anthony Gonzalez, rejected defense claims that there were no triable issues.
Attorney Arthur Cunningham, on behalf of the city, stated in his court papers that no arrest or traffic citation quota exists at the WPD.
Halm previously ruled that former Cpl. Joseph Rivera and Officers Jim Azpilicueta, Steve Johnson, Nancy Ogle and Mike Rosario could also take their cases to trial. Rivera is the only plaintiff who is no longer with the department, having retired in September 2014 because of stress he alleges he suffered over his dispute with the city.
Halm initially issued a tentative ruling in favor of the city in Azpilicueta’s case, but changed his mind after taking the case under submission.
The suit, filed in March 2015, alleges that the WPD in 2008 “imposed an unlawful citation and arrest quota” in violation of the state Vehicle Code. The quotas were used as a “benchmark for performance,” according to the lawsuit, which alleges that the WPD “thereafter retaliated against those who refused to participate in and/or reported the unlawful citation and arrest quotas.”
The six officers repeatedly complained about the alleged quotas to their supervisors and members of the Internal Affairs Division, in the belief that the standards were unlawful, according to their lawsuit.
In response, the officers allege the WPD punished them by placing negative language in their personnel files, putting them under increased scrutiny, requiring them to undergo unneeded counseling and subjecting them to unwarranted transfers.
“Plaintiffs spoke out not only for the rights of themselves and their fellow officers, but also for the rights of the public by speaking out against what they believed to be an unlawful citation and arrest quota …,” the suit states.
The careers of all six officers have been “irreparably harmed and damaged” by the alleged retaliation, which also has caused them significant emotional distress, according to their court papers.
–City News Service