CALIFORNIA - CORONA: Former police lieutenant files retaliation lawsuit

OFF THE WIRE
A former Corona Police Department lieutenant has filed a whistleblower lawsuit contending she was pulled off special assignments and denied a promotion after reporting her suspicions regarding a high-ranking officer's alleged associations with a motorcycle club.

Former Lt. Kelly Anderson filed her suit July 27 in Riverside Superior Court against the city of Corona and Police Chief Richard Madory, Capt. Timothy Slane, Capt. Ray Cota and former Lt. Brent Coleman.

In her suit, Anderson contends she was retaliated against for reporting that Coleman allegedly was associating with a high-ranking member of the Vagos Motorcycle Club. The suit describes the Vagos as an outlaw motorcycle gang.

The department declined to comment about the allegations, because it is part of a pending lawsuit, Corona police Capt. Jerry Rodriguez said.

Both Coleman and his Upland attorney, Rob Sergy, have said neither would comment about the situation.

The Corona Police Department has never publicly said it was investigating Coleman for associating with a Vagos member, but Carlos Padilla Jr., president of the Crown Town Vagos, has said that investigators interviewed him about his relationship with Coleman.

Both Hemet police and Riverside County issued statements this month, clearing the Vagos of accusations that the group had been involved in a series of attacks targeting the Hemet police.

Both agencies issued statements acknowledging the bikers were not involved in those attacks.

Anderson asks for unspecified damages in her lawsuit. She had been seeking $75,000 in a claim the city rejected Feb. 1.

Anderson described herself in the complaint as a model employee who received good reviews and was never disciplined since starting at the department in May 1983.



In January 2008, she told Cota that Coleman was associating with the vice president of a local chapter of the Vagos motorcycle club. She said it was unethical, illegal and a conflict of interest because Coleman oversaw the special enforcement bureau, which included the gang task force.

When Anderson went to Madory, who is now police chief, he told Coleman to end his relationship with the Vagos member and said there would be no investigation, according to the lawsuit. Anderson also reported the incident to then-Police Chief Richard Gonzalez, who said the matter had been handled.

Not satisfied, she told them that she wanted an outside agency to be involved, according to the lawsuit.

The Riverside County Sheriff's Department then launched an investigation into the situation, but some officers declined to comment, according to the lawsuit. The result of that investigation is unknown.

At one point, Madory sent a memo cautioning police employees to use discretion with the Vagos.

Anderson said the alleged retaliation resulted in her being denied a special assignment in April 2009. She was told it was because she could not work in the same division as her husband. But the pair had previously worked in the same division without issue, the suit contends.

In January 2010, Anderson was removed as the lieutenant in charge of a special investigative team, according to the suit. The team was disbanded five months later.

And on June 28, 2010, she was denied a promotion that she said was given to a less qualified employee, the suit says. She also said she was punitively transferred ahead of schedule and improperly reprimanded.

Earlier this year, Anderson returned to work on light duty after a disability leave for neck surgery. But when the city said it could not accept liability for her condition if she returned to her previous position as lieutenant, she medically retired.

Her last day was June 17, according to Rodriguez.

Three others named in the lawsuit also have left or are leaving the department.

Coleman had been placed on administrative leave for about 10 months, starting Nov. 30, 2009, according to officials.

He was terminated in July 2010, according to the lawsuit.

School resource officer Jessica Welde, who Anderson also reported as allegedly associating with a Vagos member, medically retired March 1.

Slane, who is a defendant in the case, is retiring this month.

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