BURBANK, Calif., May 29, 2009 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Five Burbank police officers, victims of years of race and gender-based harassment, discrimination and retaliation will hold a news conference to announce that they are suing the City of Burbank, the Burbank Police Department, the Burbank Chief of Police and a number of individual BPD police officers for injunctive relief and monetary damages.
The news conference will take place Monday, June 1, 2009 at 1:00 pm at the law offices of Rheuban & Gresen, 1990 South Bundy Drive, Suite 540, Los Angeles, California 90025
In a 63 page complaint filed in Los Angeles Superior Court, Burbank Lieutenant Omar Rodriguez; Officers Cindy Guillen-Gomez, Steve Karagiosian, Elfego Rodriguez and Jamal Childs assert the Burbank Police Department has for decades and continuing to this date, actively pursued discriminatory hiring practices designed to maximize opportunities for white, male heterosexual officers at the expense of minorities, women and others. "The evidence will also show that the Department has tolerated the use of unbelievably offensive racial, sexual and ethnic slurs. It has become so pervasive that it has long been a Departmental practice," said Solomon E. Gresen, the attorney representing the officers.
"The facts of this case will demonstrate that the Burbank Police Chief and several of his supervisors cultivated an atmosphere in which officers reporting wrong doing faced retaliation and were placed in fear for their jobs. The BPD is run as an insider's club where if you aren't white, male and heterosexual you had better keep your mouth shut and play along with the bigots or suffer the consequences," said Gresen. "This is illegal. It is bad thing for the City of Burbank. It is bad for the Burbank Police Department and it undermines the safety of Burbank residents."
"It is without question that the defendants used and/or tolerated the frequent use of incendiary racist, homophobic and sexist language. The Los Angeles Times summaries he allegations in the complaint at http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2009/05/six-burbank-officers-sue-department-for-pattern-of-discrimination.html They have alleged that officers reporting this and other illegal behavior to their supervisors were threatened, demoted, ordered to 'shut up,' threatened with anal rape and otherwise verbally and physically abused. The evidence will also show that these reports were ignored by the Police Chief and no remedial action was taken to correct the identified abuses," added Gresen.
The plaintiffs seek immediate injunctive relief, civil penalties and compensatory damages, punitive or exemplary damages and prejudgment interest, as well as all costs of suit, attorney's fees and any other relief the court may deem appropriate. The case may cost the city as much as $25 million dollars.