North County Times
A former Oceanside police officer, who is suing the city claiming he was fired as part of a conspiracy to cover up a senior officer's alleged DUI, added more accusations and evidence to his lawsuit Thursday afternoon, including audiotapes in which the senior officer allegedly admits to driving drunk.
The former officer, Gilbert Garcia, filed his initial lawsuit on Nov. 14, claiming the city used trumped-up sexual harassment allegations to fire him after he refused to destroy the tapes. In another complaint, filed Thursday, he accuses the city of engaging in racketeering.
The lawsuit said the recordings were made on Aug. 24, 2009, while Garcia and Sgt. Travis Norton investigated a DUI report that led them to the doorstep of their colleague, Sgt. David Larson.
The North County Times could not independently verify that the voices on the tapes were as represented in the lawsuit.
Garcia's lawsuit said that the recordings include an interview with Rancho del Oro resident Rick Ortiz, who made the report.
Ortiz described a man driving by and throwing a beer can out of his car window. He gave a license plate number and description that matched Larson's vehicle and home address.
"During the interview, Ortiz asked Norton, 'So does he get a DUI for that?'" the lawsuit said, "to which Norton responded, 'Yeah. We're still investigating at this point. We just want to make sure we dot all our i's and cross our t's.'"
The officers then interviewed Larson at his home.
Norton asked Larson if he would blow into a breathalyzer.
"Now? I'm going to blow over," Larson said, according to the lawsuit.
The suit claims that later that day, Larson said Oceanside Police Chief Frank McCoy and then-Capt. Reginald Grigsby told him that he and Garcia were "cleared," and that the officers should write a confidential memorandum about the incident.
Norton then ordered Garcia to destroy the tapes, the lawsuit said.
Garcia, who was being investigated on suspicion of sexually harassing a contract blood technician, turned the tapes over to a police officer's union attorney instead, his lawsuit said.
Grigsby has since retired from the Police Department.
Larson was not arrested, nor did he face criminal charges related to the DUI investigation.
Oceanside City Attorney John Mullen could not be reached for comment after the recordings were released late Thursday. However, Mullen released a statement in November responding to Garcia's initial complaint, calling the former officer's claims "false and defamatory."
"Garcia was terminated for misconduct, and he and his legal counsel had a full evidentiary hearing before an independent arbitrator," Mullen said. "The arbitrator upheld the termination on all grounds. The arbitration ruling is final and cannot be challenged in court at this late date. The full extent of the misconduct will be revealed when the City responds to the case in court. The City is confident that any reasonable person who sees the evidence will agree the City had no other choice but to terminate Garcia."
The former officer, Gilbert Garcia, filed his initial lawsuit on Nov. 14, claiming the city used trumped-up sexual harassment allegations to fire him after he refused to destroy the tapes. In another complaint, filed Thursday, he accuses the city of engaging in racketeering.
The lawsuit said the recordings were made on Aug. 24, 2009, while Garcia and Sgt. Travis Norton investigated a DUI report that led them to the doorstep of their colleague, Sgt. David Larson.
The North County Times could not independently verify that the voices on the tapes were as represented in the lawsuit.
Garcia's lawsuit said that the recordings include an interview with Rancho del Oro resident Rick Ortiz, who made the report.
Ortiz described a man driving by and throwing a beer can out of his car window. He gave a license plate number and description that matched Larson's vehicle and home address.
"During the interview, Ortiz asked Norton, 'So does he get a DUI for that?'" the lawsuit said, "to which Norton responded, 'Yeah. We're still investigating at this point. We just want to make sure we dot all our i's and cross our t's.'"
The officers then interviewed Larson at his home.
Norton asked Larson if he would blow into a breathalyzer.
"Now? I'm going to blow over," Larson said, according to the lawsuit.
The suit claims that later that day, Larson said Oceanside Police Chief Frank McCoy and then-Capt. Reginald Grigsby told him that he and Garcia were "cleared," and that the officers should write a confidential memorandum about the incident.
Norton then ordered Garcia to destroy the tapes, the lawsuit said.
Garcia, who was being investigated on suspicion of sexually harassing a contract blood technician, turned the tapes over to a police officer's union attorney instead, his lawsuit said.
Grigsby has since retired from the Police Department.
Larson was not arrested, nor did he face criminal charges related to the DUI investigation.
Oceanside City Attorney John Mullen could not be reached for comment after the recordings were released late Thursday. However, Mullen released a statement in November responding to Garcia's initial complaint, calling the former officer's claims "false and defamatory."
"Garcia was terminated for misconduct, and he and his legal counsel had a full evidentiary hearing before an independent arbitrator," Mullen said. "The arbitrator upheld the termination on all grounds. The arbitration ruling is final and cannot be challenged in court at this late date. The full extent of the misconduct will be revealed when the City responds to the case in court. The City is confident that any reasonable person who sees the evidence will agree the City had no other choice but to terminate Garcia."
Call staff writer Brandon Lowrey at 760-740-3517 or follow him on Twitter @NCTLowrey.
Related: EXCLUSIVE: Former Oceanside officer sues police department, claiming cover-up, retaliation
Related: EXCLUSIVE: Former Oceanside officer sues police department, claiming cover-up, retaliation
- READ: Garcia complaint, audio transcript
- COMMENT ,
- MAN IN THE MOON,
Larson put every citizen in this community in danger while he drove around drunk. The ipso facto cover up aloud him to continue receiving his city money each month. Friends, this is a story about a cop culture that ruins the career of a cop that did what he hired to do, then promoted and defended a criminal cop. I have followed this story since it happened and I believe that Garcia’s firing was retribution for not adhering to the “blue code of silence”.
