Five Police Officers Sue Burbank Police Department, Reports Law Offices of
Rheuban & Gresen
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-departmen
-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.
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CONTACT: Law offices of Rheuban & Gresen
Solomon E. Gresen
Steven Rheuban
(310) 979-0325
1990 South Bundy Drive, Suite 540
Los Angeles, California 90025
