A Los Angeles Police Department sergeant who alleges he was prohibited from speaking Spanish in his role as a media spokesman can take his lawsuit against the city for discrimination, retaliation and harassment to trial, a judge ruled Wednesday.
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Mark V. Mooney denied a motion by the City Attorney’s Office to deny all or part of Sgt. Frank Preciado’s claims in his suit filed in April 2019, saying there were triable issues in all of them. Preciado, who continues to work in the department’s media relations unit, alleges that his superiors ordered him not to speak Spanish in the workplace and that Spanish television newscasts were turned off in the media office.
The 24-year department veteran alleges that when he complained, he faced retaliation in the form of a loss of job duties and his official vehicle.
Preciado’s tasks included interacting with Spanish-language media channels, but in his suit he maintains he cannot speak Spanish to those outlets during phone calls or at news conferences.
The city argued the case should be dismissed because he was not demoted and cannot prove he was harassed.
“Perhaps the most egregious part of (Preciado’s) lawsuit is the conduct that he complains of, which he contends occurred as the result of discrimination, retaliation and harassment,” the city’s court papers state. “For example, he whines at length about the fact that his take-home vehicle was taken way, despite the fact that he was never authorized to have a take- home car.”
According to the lawsuit, the first restriction occurred in March 2017, when Capt. Patricia Sandoval ordered all Spanish-language television newscasts to be turned off in the media center. When Preciado complained, he faced retaliation, he alleges.
The city disputes those claims, stating in their court papers that ” examining the undisputed facts, it is clear that he has suffered no material changes to his employment. His salary and benefits all remain exactly the same and he has stayed working in his preferred position.”
Preciado also alleges that he was stripped of his role as a public information officer, but the city maintains in its court papers that he only served in that role in an acting capacity.
“Moreover, he readily admits that the percentage of his PIO work has remained unchanged from 2016-20,” the city’s court papers state.
Preciado had problems with Sandoval after she became his captain and “felt she was a woman on a power trip” and was “adversarial,” according to the city’s court papers.
Preciado alleges that Sandoval and civilian director Josh Rubenstein announced in March 2017 that no media center televisions would show Spanish telecasts, but reversed course eight days later after the plaintiff complained that it interfered with his ability to do his job, according to the city’s court papers.
Preciado admits that he was never told by any boss that he should not give interviews in Spanish, nor was he ever reprimanded for giving interviews in Spanish, the city’s court papers state. “In fact, his performance review signed by Capt. Sandoval specifically highlights his Spanish work as part of his duties and praises him for it.”
But Preciado maintains in a sworn declaration that his physical and mental health have deteriorated as a result of his treatment by Sandoval and Rubenstein.
“I have been suffering from severe migraines, insomnia and mental anxiety brought on by stress,” Preciado says.
Preciado said he had planned to work for the LAPD for at least 28 years and five additional years in an early retirement option program.
“Now, I’ll be forced to take a different retirement path to escape stress from the constant discrimination and retaliation,” Preciado says.