Photo: FLLewis/Media City G -- Burbank Police unit

A history making promotion in the Burbank Police Department. Veteran  police officer, Jamal Childs, has been upped from school resources officer to detective.  This is the first time in 100 years — that’s right — that an African American cop has been promoted in the BPD.

In the past, black officers were ignored or the rules of promotion changed once they were in line to move up to the next level.  For too long, police brass  and city officials made  flimsy excuses  for the discrimination and  pretended there were no qualified  black candidates.

 I doubt this promotion has occurred because of  a sudden desire in City Hall  to do what is right and fair.  I suspect it’s fallout from  those lawsuits charging  discrimination, harassment, and misconduct in the BPD and that probe by the U.S. Justice Department into what is now known as “the police mess.”

Burbank is throwing a huge party on July 8, 2011 to celebrate the city’s centennial. Now if  discrimination and racism were  completely and totally eradicated from all aspects of  Burbank city government  –  that would be reason for some serious  partying.

BPD cases and lawsuits

Photo: FLLewis/Media City G -- Tim Stehr at City Hall when he was Burbank Police Chief back in the spring of 2008

Where is ex-Burbank Police Chief, Tim Stehr? Some reports say he’s planning to continue on a loooong European vacation for at least three months, perhaps more. On the other hand, a reliable source tells me Stehr is due back in the Southland next weekend.

Stehr’s vacation has resulted in an expensive delay in the discrimination and retaliation case of Burbank Police Officer Cindy Guillen-Gomez. The City Attorney’s Office got a stay order one day before Guillen-Gomez’s trial was to start. I’m hearing Stehr’s getaway cost thousands of dollars –maybe as much as $30,000 in legal and court fees.

Also, get this,  the City Attorney considers Stehr such a valuable witness — he gets paid! Stehr has admitted it. Guillen-Gomez’s case was filed two years ago and the City Attorney’s Office is still using delay tactics to avoid going to trial. And taxpayers are picking up the bill.

About a year and a half ago, former LAPD guy, Scott LaChasse, was brought in to clean-up the department after Stehr resigned. Now LaChasse has been named in some recent lawsuits filed by Chris Canales, Jose Duran, and Omar Rodriguez. All three were among officers fired by LaChasse last year. More lawsuits, more drama.

New Internal Investigation of the BPD

At last week’s city council meeting, City Manager, Mike Flad, announced a new internal investigation of the police department. This was in response to earlier comments that evening from Burbank producer/director, Jerry Day, who said he had observed some BPD officers walking out of a store with items they did not pay for.  Also, Day pointed out he had seen other officers go to the cashier and pay for stuff. Day expressed concerns about the impression this might be giving of some BPD officers getting “freebies.”  

City council hires own investigative unit  

Speaking of investigations, months ago, the Burbank City Council hired a couple of high profile attorneys of its own.They report directly to the council — not the city attorney nor the city manager. Yeah, more lawyers being paid for with taxpayer dollars. So far, very little information has been provided to the public about the law firms getting this money and for what services.

Appointments & Police Commission Controversy

On the city council agenda tonight, the filling of vacancies on various commissions, boards, and committees. Also, the city council is set to discuss a worn-out, but apparently still kicking controversy from last year about Police Commissioner Jim Etter.

Photo: FLLewis/Media City G -- (l-r) Police Commissioner Jim Etter, Chair Bob Frutos, at the Police Commission Community Forum at the Buena Vista Library in Burbank April 20, 2011

The fire that keeps this melodrama going and taking up council time is apparently a long standing feud between Vice-Mayor Dave Golonski and the Etter family. When the matter comes up tonight, Golonski should recuse himself, thereby allowing the rest of the council to finally settle it.

Major development involving Burbank’s controversial practice of merit pay for some employees. In the last fiscal year of 2009-2010, the city reportedly paid out an estimated $1 million in bonuses, during these hard economic times of cutbacks and reduced city services. The Burbank City Attorney’s Office is fighting a lawsuit to get details on those bonuses filed last January by The Burbank Leader/The Los Angeles Times.

Last fall, the Leader filed a public records request for that information.  I also requested the same information from the City Attorney’s Office. City officials, including the majority on the city council and City Manager, Mike Flad, defended these bonuses and efforts to block the full disclosure of them to the media and the public.

Photo: FLLewis/Media City G -- City Manager Mike Flad at a city council meeting Burbank City Hall March 15, 2011

In a memo, dated January 7, 2011, sent out to Burbank employees about the Leader/Los Angeles Times request, Flad defended the city’s position: “The City has taken the position … that City employees have, and at all times since the merit pay program was created, had an expectation that the amount of merit pay awarded would be as private and confidential as their performance evaluations.”

Well, Flad is backing away from a blanket support of these bonuses. Late yesterday, this news release was sent out by Burbank City Hall.

City Manager Proposes Suspension of Merit Pay and New Pension Contributions for City Executives/Unrepresented Managers  Staff taking steps to reduce City’s budget deficit

BURBANK, Calif. (May 13, 2011) – As the City of Burbank prepares its upcoming budget for fiscal year 2011-2012, the proposal calls for the City’s executive team, which includes all department directors, and its unrepresented managers to relinquish merit pay and begin contributions to their pension costs.  The savings from these steps alone is estimated at more than $500,000/year.

“With over 80% of our costs in the general fund going to labor and 85% of the budget deficit attributable to pension costs, we simply can’t balance the budget in the short or long term without impacting our labor groups,” says City Manager Mike Flad.  “I believe anything to the contrary will be fiscally irresponsible.”

City employees outside of the executive and unrepresented management groups have union representation which requires any proposed changes to be negotiated in new contracts.

The proposed budget also calls for salary ranges (for all City positions) to be frozen.  In addition, the interim command staff of the Burbank Police Department has already offered to take a 5% pay reduction and Flad has voluntarily declined a 5% pay raise for which he is contractually eligible.  He says all of these measures may be required for the next several years as the City’s budget deficit is gradually closed.

“It’s important for us to remain competitive with other cities by offering fair compensation and benefits, but these are unprecedented times which require unprecedented action,” Flad said. “I am grateful to our executives and managers for their contributions and to all of our labor groups who continue negotiations with City management as we work toward developing solutions together.”

The City Manager’s proposal is scheduled for discussion at the City Council meeting of May 24th.

###                                                                                     

By the way, a lot of chatter all over town this week about a certain employee in the Park, Recreation, and Community Services Department, who has a merit bonus of  $1,000 a month written into his personal employment contract. Interesting.

Another twist in the Charlie Sheen saga

There are more strange twists in the real-life saga of troubled-outspoken actor, Charlie Sheen, than most TV shows. This morning, Sheen’s attorney filed a $100 million lawsuit against Warner Bros. and “Two and a Half Men” co-creator/executive producer, Chuck Lorre.

The suit comes days after Warner Bros. fired Sheen from the highly rated TV sitcom. The Wrap has the termination letter, a copy of Sheen’s complaint, and more here.

Book deal for actor/comedian/author, Bill Cosby

Entertainer Bill Cosby has a new book coming out later this year, in November. “I Didn’t Ask To Be Born, But I’m Glad I Was,” touches on Cosby’s dating experience, misbehaving grandkids, and his views on God and the Bible, according to the publishing site, Galleycat.

Cosby has written several books including, “Fatherhood” and “Cosbyology.”

Script news: screenwriter selected for reboot of “Robocop”

Deadline.com is reporting that Josh Zetumer has been hired by MGM to script a new version of the 1987 sci-fi action hit, “Robocop.” There were two sequels in 1990 and 1993, but none did as well as the first movie at the box office. Zetumer is a hot screenwriter right now. He got his big break with the spy thriller screenplay, “Infiltrator.”  More here.

Photo: FLLewis/Media City G -- A serene scene at Grand View Cemetery in Glendale shot through a locked gate on October 22, 2010

 The gates of Grand View Memorial Park Cemetery in Glendale will be open this Sunday, a few weeks before the anticipated start of the restoration. By the order of Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Anthony Mohr, the struggling 120-plus-year-old cemetery will also be open for visitors on Sunday, November 21, as well as Sunday, December 5. 

In an e-mail update this week, Attorney Paul Ayers, who is heading up the $500,000 restoration project, announced a landscape architect ”… has completed construction plans for irrigation installation and landscape rehabilitation…” for the beleaguered cemetery. 

The hiring of a landscape contractor should be a done deal by next week, clearing away for the restoration to begin. “We anticipate breaking ground on or about December 15, 2010,” Ayers said. 

Grand View appears to be making progress on the long road to recovery. In January, a multi-million dollar settlement was finalized in a class-action lawsuit against the cemetery. More than a thousand plaintiffs were involved in that suit. It was one of seveal  lawsuits filed against the cemetery after a state investigator in 2005, discovered thousands of human remains at Grand View had been improperly handled. Also, there were allegations of illegal business practices such as the selling of non-existing grave plots.

 Management and financial problems forced the cemetery to close down  more than two years ago. Since then, Grand View has been open to the public only periodically by a judge’s order.

Grand View will be open Sunday, November 7, from noon to 4 p.m.

Two Burbank City Council members speak out on two very different issues

Burbank City Councilman Dr. David Gordon photo from Burbank website

Burbank City Councilman Dave Golonski photo from Burbank website

In the past few days, two members of the Burbank City Council have sent letters to two different newspapers about two very different concerns –  producing quite a contrast.

As Dr. Gordon stated in his letter, he began asking questions after”… it was brought to my attention that millions of school bond, state grants and $23 million provided by the city for district-wide modernization of school facilities had been inappropriately used, were not properly account for or simply disappeared.” Gordon criticizes the Leader’s article for its “…distorted and inaccurate..” portrayal of his position.  Here’s the link to Gordon’s letter on the Leader website.

Also, Burbank City Councilman Dave Golonski was prompted to write a letter to the Orange County Register for a personal reason — a project in San Clemente where he owns property.  Apparently, Golonski is concerned because he says ”…the project is upside down financially and the City Council is considering bailing it out using taxpayer funds.”

I first saw a post about this letter on the Semichorus blog, where there’s a discussion going on about how Golonski supported a project in Burbank where developer, Michael Cusumano, got a piece of city land for only $100. The property is at Third Street and Olive Avenue. It’s where the $20 million Cusumano Plaza was built.  

Burbank city officials react to yet another lawsuit

Photo: FLLewis/Media City G -- Activist Mike Nolan is a frequent speaker at Burbank Police Commission and Burbank City Council meetings

 In another strange twist in Burbank politics, Activist Mike Nolan has joined forces with Burbank Business Owner, Greg Bedrossian, to try to legally block the development of the 24 Hour Fitness Super Sport Center, at 1903 Empire Avenue.

Nolan and Bedrossian (the owner of the Burbank Athletic Club), have sued the city on the grounds the Burbank City Council’s vote/decision on May 18 approving the controversial project ”… failed to comply with the applicable provisions of the law.”

In a Burbank Leader article, Burbank Spokesman, Keith Sterling, would not comment directly on the lawsuit, but is quoted as saying city officials were “vigorously defending our position and the decision that was made.”  Isn’t that the knee jerk reaction of Burbank officials lately? Rather than looking at the merits of a recent slew of  lawsuits involving the police scandal — they are fighting them all by spending thousands and probably millions of dollars of taxpayer funds. Great for the lawyers, not so good for the city and taxpayers paying the bills.

Controversial tape of the BPOA President’s shaky testimony  

You gotta wonder what the fallout will be from that tape up on YouTube of Burbank Police Officers’ Association President, Detective Mike Parrinello.  The tape shows a portion of Parrinello’s deposition given in matters dealing with the Burbank Police Scandal/Corruption/ mess. It’s spliced with snippets of an audio tape and transcriptions, which appear to demonstrate that Parrinello told less than the truth under oath.

The audio tape is hard to understand at times, but Parrinello’s body language speaks volumes. Get the hook up for the tape on the Semichorus blog.

Gripes & complaints

Photo: FLLewis/Media City G — A Burbank city inspector recently checked out the repair work on East Angeleno Avenue in the hillside area

I’m still hearing the unhappy stories from hillside residents about  what they consider as tacky work done by Kalban — a contractor hired by the city of Burbank to repair sidewalks and ramps in the area.

I first reported about the complaints from homeowners in a City Buzz column last month on June 23. And I’m hearing new complaints. Also, the homeowners are apparently doing their own investigating. I’m told the initial inspectors of the project were freelancers hired by Kalban not by the city of Burbank.

I did spot a Burbank inspector recently checking out the repair work done by Kalban on East Angeleno Avenue. The Burbank inspector admitted hearing complaints of so-called substandard work and damage done to some properties by Kalban from homeowners. However, the inspector dismissed those  complaints and told me he approved of Kalban’s work.

Clearly there is a disconnect between the city standards and the expectations of homeowners. The construction project is expected to be completed by the end of August. More details on the Burbank city website.

Michael Jackson  (August 29, 1958 — June 25, 2009)

Kudos, flowers, tears, and memories are being shared around the world today for Legendary Entertainer, Michael Jackson, on this the first anniversary of his death.  Like millions of his fans, first I was shocked and then saddened, when reports of Jackson’s death were confirmed on June 25, 2009.

Later, the Los Angeles County Coroner’s Office would rule the singer’s death a homicide from a drug overdose. Jackson’s personal physician, Cardiologist Conrad Murray, has been charged with involuntary manslaughter in connection with his death. Today, the singer’s father, Joe Jackson, filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Dr. Murray. Details in a CNN report here.

At the time of his death, the pop superstar was in the Southland rehearsing for a series of “This Is It” concerts. The poster for the first leg of that tour in the UK is shown above.

Photo: Raul Roa/ Glendale News-Press —  Fans gather in front of the Holly Terrace today, the mausoleum where Jackson was laid to rest at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale

 Locally, some fans came from as far away as England, Scotland, Japan, and Australia to either visit the entertainer’s star on the Walk of Fame in Hollywood or his grave site at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale.

Family members, including Janet Jackson, and brothers Jermaine and Tito, visited Jackson’s crypt at Forest Lawn Glendale this morning. Some photos of Jackson’s family and the fans are on The Burbank Leader and Glendale News-Press websites.

Also, the Stevie Wonder-owned Southland radio station, KJLH, is paying tribute to Jackson all weekend long by playing his music and remembering his life and legacy. I’ve been listening off and on throughout the day and evening — how cool– to groove to some of the old hits and album cuts I have never heard before. You can tune your radio to 102.3 FM or listen live on the KJLH website here. 

Burbank has not escaped the bumps and bruises of the brutal recession, but yesterday it got some good news from one of the top financial agencies. Standard and Poor’s upgraded Burbank’s credit rating to “AAA,” the highest grade possible.  

S&P credited the Media City with a strong local economy, steady tax base, low debt, high reserve balance, and attractive location in the Southland as reasons for the rate hike, according to a press release on the city’s website.

Photo: FLLewis/A Writer’s Groove — East Olive Avenue in Burbank

“The City is pleased that the strength of Burbank’s finances has been recognized at a time when all cities and businesses are struggling with the consequences of a severe recession,” says City Manager Mike Flad in that press release. “Burbank has been more resilient due to the foresight of the current and previous City Councils who have built a strong and diversified economic base and adhered to sound financial policies.”

The higher the bond rating the lower the cost of borrowing for the city, which means “savings of taxpayer dollars,” and that is truly good news for residents.

Nevertheless on other fronts, things are not as glowing for Burbank. At last night’s city council meeting, the list of closed session issues before council members included several legal cases such as, Christopher Lee Dunn vs Burbank Police Department alleging wrongful termination due to discrimination, Omar Rodriguez vs Burbank Police Department, an alleged case of employment discrimination, infliction of emotional distress, and other related causes of action, William Taylor vs City of Burbank, alleged employment discrimination, and Angelo Dahlia vs City of Burbank, a case of alleged civil rights violations.

The entire list of closed session items appeared in Tuesday night’s city council agenda. Clearly, some problems that plagued Burbank in 2009 are not solved, and still deserve serious and transparent attention from city officials.

Photo: FLLewis/A Writer’s Groove — Attorney Solomon E. Gresen speaks to the media outside Burbank city hall on November 3, 2009.

Encino Attorney Solomon E. Gresen represents Burbank Police Lieutenant Omar Rodriquez and several of the other eight present or former BPD officers suing the city and the department. The Burbank Leader  reports BPD Detective Angelo Dahlia alleges in his lawsuit that he saw Lieutenant Rodriquez threaten a witness. According to the Leader, Dahlia characterized Rodriquez as having “…a reputation for corrupt and illegal practices.”  

Today, Gresen slammed those allegations as “categorically untrue.” Here’s Gresen’s statement. 

Statement of Solomon E. Gresen, Attorney for Burbank Police

Lieutenant Omar Rodriguez in “Rodriguez, et al. v. City of Burbank”

 As outlined in his 63 page complaint filed in Los Angeles Superior Court on May 28^th of this year, Lieutenant Rodriguez has alleged that throughout his 22 year career at the Burbank Police Department he has been subjected to race-based harassment and promotional discrimination and retaliated against for his efforts to increase opportunities for minorities. 

 “The current lawsuit brought by Angelo Dahlia is the latest incident in a long string of retaliatory conduct against Lt. Rodriguez, and seems designed specifically to discredit Lt. Rodriguez and to detract from the claims of Rodriguez and Officers Steve Karagiosian, Jamal Childs, Elfago Rodriguez, Cindy Guillen-Gomez and Christopher Dunn.” said Solomon Gresen, attorney for Lt. Rodriguez inn his lawsuit against the City of Burbank.  The allegations concerning Lt. Rodriguez contained in Dahlia’s lawsuit are categorically untrue. 

 As alleged in his complaint, on April 15, 2009 Lt. Rodriguez was placed on administrative leave only two hours after he formally complained about retaliatory action taken against a fellow senior police officer who joined with Rodriguez in opposing the department’s systemic discrimination. The next day Rodriguez was demoted from his administrative position and reassigned to the patrol division.

 The complaint also describes a system and practice where the BPD has actively engaged in discriminatory hiring and promotionalpractices designed to maximize opportunities for white male, heterosexualofficers, at the expense of women and minorities.  The BPD has tolerated the use of offensive racial, ethnic and sexual preference slurs including but not limited to “nigger,” “beaner,” “fag,” “dyke,” “wet back,” “towel head” and other similarly objectionable terms. Further the BPD has consistently refused to take disciplinary or corrective action against the above described activities despite the repeated efforts by Lt. Rodriguez and others to bring significant evidence of harassment, discrimination and retaliation to the attention of the BPD’s senior leadership.

 The complaint goes on to say that over the course of his career, Lt. Rodriguez has suffered and documented multiple examples of unfair and illegal discrimination against him based on his Cuban/Hispanic heritage. Notwithstanding multiple obstacles unfairly placed in his path, in 2006 Lt. Rodriguez became the first non-Caucasian officer promoted above the rank of Sergeant since the City of Burbank incorporated in 1911. Over this entire 98 year period, not a single African-American has ever been promoted by the BPD above the rank of “Police Officer”. BPD has never had a single African-American Detective, Sergeant, Lieutenant, Captain, Deputy Chief or Chief. 

File Photo: FLLewis/A Writer’s Groove — Burbank Police and Fire Headquarters at North Third Street and Orange Grove Avenue.

The number of present or former Burbank Police Officers suing the city and some department brass jumped to eight this week, and there are indications that total will go even higher. The latest lawsuit was filed by BPD Detective Angelo Dahlia on Tuesday in federal court, according to the Burbank Leader.

The story was up on the Leader website at 5:26 p.m. last night. A terse statement on the Dahlia suit appeared on the Burbank city website a short time later at 6:15 p.m. Here’s the statement.

Statement on Lawsuit Filed by Detective Angelo Dahlia

BURBANK, Calif. (November 19, 2009) – The City has been named as a defendant in a lawsuit filed by Burbank Police Detective Angelo Dahlia.

These are a new set of allegations related to cases already being investigated. As with all serious charges, it is important for the investigations to be completed.

Earlier this year, the City hired an outside attorney and investigator to conduct an independent investigation into allegations ranging from wrongful termination, discrimination and retaliation to abuse of force.

In addition, Police Chief Tim Stehr requested the LA County Sheriff’s Department conduct its own investigation.

As these important inquiries continue, the City’s top priority remains the safety of our citizens.

###

This statement is extremely sketchy with very few facts relevant to the Dahlia case. What are Detective Dahlia’s allegations and charges? The Burbank statement was either hastily prepared by someone who FORGOT to include important facts or perhaps the purpose of the statement is not to inform, but a flimsy attempt at some sort of damage control.  

Ironically last Tuesday, November 17, the city council voted to install a new policy providing some type of screening for news releases on sensitive issues before they’re made public. This was in reaction to a controversy stirred up over the tone and language in some recent releases dealing with the investigations and lawsuits, particularly the statement issued after the suit filed by Ex-Deputy Police Chief Bill Taylor last September.

In a letter to the city council dated November 2, 2009, Former Burbank Mayor Marsha Ramos joined the outcry over the Taylor statement: “The press release stated that Mr. Taylor ‘refused to cooperate’ in the City’s attempt to investigate. Yet, I know that Mr. Taylor made several attempts to cooperate and bring forward for further discussion some very serious concerns.”

As for the Dahlia lawsuit, the Leader is reporting the BPD detective “alleges that high-ranking members of the department investigating the 2007 robbery of Porto’s Bakery assaulted and beat witnesses and suspects ‘under the color of authority.’ ” 

So the city of Burbank and the BPD are facing another potentially multi-million dollar lawsuit/ settlement. And we haven’t heard from the attorneys for Sergeant Neil T. Gunn’s family. Relatives have already accused the city and the BPD of having a hand in Sgt. Gunn’s suicide last month; a lawsuit is reportedly in the works.

I can’t help but wonder, if Police Chief Tim Stehr had taken complaints and concerns last spring from the Burbank Police Officer’s Association seriously enough and taken action to solve some of the department’s problems, Burbank might not be facing all these lawsuits and maybe, just maybe, a certain police officer might still be alive.

Photo: FLLewis/A Writer’s Groove —Burbank Police Chief Tim Stehr

I don’t know if he was pushed or he volunteered, but Burbank Police Chief Tim Stehr is heading for the door. The announcement appeared a short while ago on the Burbank city website. It comes almost a week after that volatile council meeting where Councilman David Gordon called for an emergency action to consider putting Chief Stehr on administrative leave. His fellow council members balked and refused to consider the motion.

Last Friday afternoon, I published a post on this blog, “Time for serious change in Burbank,” calling for the police chief to step aside or to be put on administrative leave for the good of the BPD, the city, and its citizens. Stehr’s ability to lead has been severely damaged by the investigations, lawsuits, low morale, the suicide death of Sergeant Neil Thomas Gunn, Senior, and other problems in the department. The decision was slow in coming, but it was the right one. Here is the announcement from the Burbank website.

Burbank Police Chief to Retire

 BURBANK, Calif. (November 9, 2009)– Burbank Police Chief Tim Stehr will officially step down from his post on December 31, 2009.

 “It has been my absolute privilege to serve as Chief in the City of Burbank,” says Stehr. “Our department is facing challenging times. The healing process will be a long one but I have tremendous confidence in the brave men and women of our department and the citizens of this community. As I prepare to retire, I wish to thank all those who made the department’s success possible.”

 Stehr joined the Burbank Police Department in 1978 as a cadet and served in a variety of roles before being named Chief in 2007.

 City Manager Michael Flad says an Interim Chief will assume duties no later than January 1^stwith Chief Stehr assisting in the transition for 30-60 days.

UPDATE 7:52 p.m.

I spoke with Burbank Councilman David Gordon by phone a few minutes ago. Now that Police Chief Tim Stehr is leaving, Councilman Gordon says “…I am hopeful….  there will be new outside leadership coming in… to cast new independent view of the important issues facing our police department…”

New leadership with fresh ideas. I agree. That’s the kind of change that is needed in the Burbank Police Department and in city government as well.

UPDATE 11/11/09   Police Chief Tim Stehr speaks

In an opinion piece published last night on the Burbank Leader website, outgoing Burbank Police Chief Tim Stehr gives his reason for stepping down and comments on a number issues, including misconduct in the BPD.  Here is what the chief wrote:

I have decided to retire after a more than 31-year career with one of the most professional and top-quality law enforcement agencies in this state. This is an extremely difficult decision for me to leave this department, where I have had such a rich and rewarding career.

I have spent virtually my entire adult life here at the Burbank Police Department. I met my incredible wife here, her family and so many great people who have become lifelong friends.

I regret that I am prevented from fully commenting on the investigations and litigation that seem to be so consuming to the city, but I want to assure the community that the men and women of this department are totally committed to the safety of this city.

I would like to comment on something that seems to be misunderstood and misrepresented in the many public discussions of these issues, and that is the Police Department’s legal duty to investigate all complaints of misconduct.

When a citizen brings allegations involving the misconduct of a Burbank police officer to the attention of the Burbank Police Department, the Police Department is mandated by law to conduct an administrative investigation. When a citizen’s accusation of misconduct is so egregious that if true, it would constitute criminal misconduct, the Police Department refers that accusation to an independent law enforcement agency to conduct a criminal investigation. Under those circumstances, the police officer is placed on administrative leave, with full pay, pending the outcome of the administrative investigation, and possibly the criminal investigation.

Currently, one or more citizens have accused several Burbank officers of misconduct. Those accusations are under administrative investigation by an independent investigator hired by the Burbank Police Department, with the approval of the City Council. In addition, the Burbank Police Department referred the accusations of misconduct to an outside law enforcement agency.

I believe that my continued service here is a distraction that the city and the department do not need, and that is why I announced my retirement. I am proud of my record of service to this community at every step of my career, from cadet all the way to chief.

As chief, I do not regret the actions I took to investigate complaints of misconduct, to refer the complaints to an outside agency for criminal investigation, and to punish those who were found to have acted inappropriately. The Burbank community deserves nothing less than a full and complete investigation of all allegations of misconduct. I have acted at all times with the full knowledge of, direction and advice from the special outside counsel and investigator appointed for this purpose by the City Council.

I have many great memories and career accomplishments that I am very proud of. I want to thank the city manager for giving me the opportunity to serve this department as chief, and I hope only the very best future for this department and this city.

I especially want to thank my incredible family, my wife, Barbara, my children, Cory and Jessica, my in-laws, extended family and friends who have provided me with unconditional love and support throughout my entire career. 

MORE COMMENTS from Chief Stehr on his departure and reaction from the Burbank Police Officer’s Association President, Detective Mike Parrinello, in an article by Burbank Leader reporter Christopher Cadelago, which is also posted on the newspaper’s website.

Photo: FLLewis/A Writer’s Groove — Burbank City Councilman David Gordon and Vice-Mayor/Council Member Anja Reinke at the Tuesday November 3, 2009, council meeting.

Reverberations from last Tuesday’s Burbank City Council meeting are still shaking the town and probably will continue to do so for some time. That should really come as no surprise to anyone who was there or watched it on TV. It was an explosive event with huge ramifications.

Things really got cooking when Councilman David Gordon declared publicly what many in this city have been talking about and hoping for. Boldly, Dr. Gordon called for his fellow council members to consider an emergency action to discuss putting Burbank Police Chief Stehr on “administrative leave.”

Gordon cited  the “stress and tension” in the department brought on by Stehr’s questionable leadership, Sergeant Neil Thomas Gunn’s death, and a slew of investigations and lawsuits. Stehr has been named in some of those lawsuits and is more than likely being questioned as well in the FBI’s secretive probe into misconduct by the BPD.

All around me, wild applause broke out in the city council chamber. Members of Sergeant Gunn’s family and their supporters, which included a larger number of Burbank police officers, filled the seats and lined the walls of the chamber. Many of the Gunn supporters still carried the candles that were used earlier in the evening at a vigil for the veteran Burbank police officer.

Photos: FLLewis/A Writer’s Groove —Gunn supporters walked from the vigil at Burbank Police and Fire Headquarters to city hall for the city council meeting. 

On October 29, the body of 50-year-old Burbank Police Sergeant Neil Thomas Gunn, Senior was discovered beneath a cluster of trees, near the De Bell Golf course at the intersection of Sunset Canyon Drive and Harvard Road. According to a Burbank Police/Burbank City press release, Gunn died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Photo: FLLewis/A Writer’s Groove —Sunset Canyon Drive and Harvard Road.

Rumors about Sgt. Gunn’s death have been flying fast and furious around Burbank for days. Gunn was reportedly one of the officers named in that FBI investigation. In a news advisory, a newspaper interview, and at a news conference on the steps of city hall Tuesday night, Gunn family members claimed the police officer’s suicide was a result of “the treatment” he received from the Burbank Police Department.

“My brother was a victim of retaliation for defending officers who had been wrongly accused…” charged Chris Topolovich who spoke for the family at the news conference. Sources say documents or notes left behind by Sgt. Gunn leveled an accusing finger at Chief Stehr. Topolovich ended his remarks to the media by pleading for “.. no more dead bodies in the city of Burbank.”

Photo: FLLewis/A Writer’s Groove — After the news conference, a distraught Chris Topolovich is comforted under the glare of media lights by Gunn’s son, Neil Gunn Junior.

Councilman Gordon characterized the situation in the BPD as a ”health and safety” issue and told his colleagues ”we cannot close our eyes” to the problem. However, close their eyes is exactly what the four other council members did. How could they be in that position, live in this city, and not see and hear what is going on?

Reinke ranted she did not “…have enough facts” to consider “discharging” the police chief. Interesting, Gordon never used the word “discharge” or anything close to fire. He said “administrative leave.” Several Burbank police officers, whose guilt or innocence has not been determined, are on administrative leave. Topolovich confirmed during the news conference that Sgt. Gunn had been on administrative leave as well.

 Councilman Jess Talamantes said “I don’t have all the facts” and described the matter with the police chief as merely”… a personnel issue.” Talking about missing the magnitude of the situation. 

Mayor/Councilman Gary Bric joined with Talamantes and Reinke in saying he too was in the dark. Gee, now didn’t the mayor read that controversial statement on September 29, 2009 (supported by all of the council members) that claimed to be in the know about the lawsuits, investigations, and problems in the BPD.

 Mayor Bric said:”There have been a number of lawsuits and claims filed that contain multiple allegations of improper conduct ranging from wrongful termination, discrimination and retaliation to abuse of force and various forms of covering up such activities. These are all very serious allegations and I think it is clear to everyone that the police department is facing some major challenges. All of these allegations have arisen from sources within the department or from former members of the department.”

Also, Bric stated: “While we know the entire community is disappointed to know that there are issues within the police department, please rest assured that the City Council is taking every step possible to make sure all of the issues are identified and that steps are taken to make sure that any problems that are identified are dealt with in a manner that insures they are never repeated. This may mean some severe consequences for any persons involved in misconduct, but we believe the integrity of our police department is extremely important to this community and is our paramount concern.”

And then Councilman Dave Golonski accused Gordon of “grandstanding” and said, “I don’t believe there is an emergency.” Golonski’s comments and those of some of the other council members were greeted with jeers and hisses from the audience.

A frustrated Burbank resident tried to convince the council members of the seriousness of the situation by shouting, “It happened near my house!” in reference to the Sgt. Gunn tragedy. Well, when the homeowner would not be silenced the mayor ordered him removed from the chamber. Instead, the man got up and stormed out. Gordon’s motion died when it did not receive one vote from his fellow council members. However, the issue is still very much alive.

It’s time for serious change in Burbank.  At the top of the list, Police Chief Tim Stehr needs to step aside or be put on administrative leave for the good of the department, the city, and the citizens of  Burbank.

Photo: Burbank City Councilman Dave Golonski from Burbank city website

Burbank City Councilman Dave Golonski is not happy with the way the Burbank Leader newspaper reported on that statement read by Mayor Gary Bric at last Tuesday’s city council meeting. The much-talked-about and reported-on statement is the first official public reaction from the entire city council to a slew of police lawsuits and a number of investigations going on in Burbank. The complete statement is posted on this blog.

Today I was over on the Leader website and read an opinion piece by Councilman Golonski. He claims the newspaper’s story, “FBI probes Police Dept., “ about that statement last Wednesday, “… omitted some important facts, so I’d like to clarify the important points that I believe were inaccurately portrayed in the article.”

One of the points Golonski makes is that the story  ”…  reported that the mayor “blew the lid off the investigations” after the council had remained silent on the legal action building against the city. While our statement contained more detailed information on the investigations, the fact that there are both internal and external investigations looking into issues at the police department was disclosed publicly in response to oral communications at a council meeting as far back as May.”

In fact, it was Golonski who made the revelation about those “… internal and external investigations…” at a city council meeting on May 19, 2009. Golonski’s disclosure was mentioned in a story on this blog back in May as well.

The councilman has a few other issues with that newspaper article. Here’s the link to Golonski’s response,  which also appears in today’s print edition of the Leader.  

Photo: FLLewis/A Writer’s Groove — Burbank Mayor Gary Bric read a statement at last night’s council meeting.

Finally, after weeks and months of mostly silence or as some folks have described it stonewalling, the Burbank City Council spoke out last night about the controversial and very messy situation surrounding the police department. Back on May 13, I wrote a post about the alleged problems in the BPD and called on the city council to not… ” wait until it all explodes into a full blown controversy, but step forward now and explain the situation to residents.” Mayor Gary Bric and city council members Anja Reinke, David Gordon, Jess Talamantes, and Dave Golonski did not heed that advice from me and other citizens, but remained tight-lipped about the situation.

So after seven lawsuits have been filed by former or present members of the Burbank Police force, including a former Deputy Police Chief, and persistent rumors about investigations by outside agencies like the FBI, the city council is going public about the growing scandal.

At the beginning of Tuesday night’s city council meeting, Mayor Bric announced he would read something  ”very important” … ”a statement” he says the council members agreed to earlier in the evening, in closed session.  Here is the full text of that statement, which is now posted on the city Burbank website.

Statement from Mayor Gary Bric
Burbank City Council Meeting
September 29, 2009 

There has been a lot of press recently regarding issues at the Burbank Police Department and I’m sure the community is concerned and wants to make sure that these issues are being appropriately dealt with. There have been a number of lawsuits and claims filed that contain multiple allegations of improper conduct ranging from wrongful termination, discrimination and retaliation to abuse of force and various forms of covering up such activities. These are all very serious allegations and I think it is clear to everyone that the police department is facing some major challenges. All of these allegations have arisen from sources within the department or from former members of the department.

 As a result of allegations prior to these lawsuits, a number of investigations have been initiated both by the department and by outside entities at the invitation of and with the cooperation of the city. These investigations began long before the filing of the lawsuits and claims mentioned above. Chief Stehr requested the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s department come in and perform an independent investigation. The city also began an independent investigation using an outside attorney and an outside investigator, both of whom report directly to the City Attorney and City Manager’s office. Your Burbank City Council has met with the outside attorney in order to confirm that there are no limitations on the scope of the investigation and to indicate that any signs of lack of cooperation by anyone within the city are to be brought to the Council’s attention. The Sheriff’s department requested that the city hold off commencing its investigation until the Sheriff’s investigation was completed. In addition to these investigations, the FBI has been conducting their own investigation into these matters and we are cooperating with their inquiries to the city. It is our understanding that when the Sheriff’s investigation is complete, it will be forwarded by the Sheriff’s department to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office. The city’s investigation is now ongoing and includes all of the issues raised by the lawsuits and claims that have been filed and will also include any additional issues that may arise in the future.

While we cannot legally share the details of any of these investigations, we felt it was important to share with you that the issues in the Burbank Police Department are being taken very seriously and investigated by outside independent agencies. These investigations have been taking what seems like a very long time, but the investigators know the seriousness of the allegations and are making sure they do a complete and thorough job. We are frustrated that we cannot share more detailed information with you, but the integrity of the investigations and strict legal rules governing the privacy of police officers that may be under investigation prevent us from making any further comments.

While we know the entire community is disappointed to know that there are issues within the police department, please rest assured that the City Council is taking every step possible to make sure all of the issues are identified and that steps are taken to make sure that any problems that are identified are dealt with in a manner that insures they are never repeated. This may mean some severe consequences for any persons involved in misconduct, but we believe the integrity of our police department is extremely important to this community and is our paramount concern.

With our firm commitment to discover and correct any misdeeds within the police department, I can assure you the majority of the men and women in our police department are not involved in these issues and we would be remiss if we didn’t recognize the excellent job they do protecting the safety of our community during these difficult times.

End of statement

In the past, city council members have reluctantly acknowledge some “lawsuits” and “investigations,” but in this statement for the first time, there is public disclosure of the involvement of the FBI. The investigations are said to be looking into conspiracy charges and a pattern of corruption as well.

Recently, the call for leadership and action from the mayor and city council has become loud and demanding from Burbank residents. Now that those city officials have taken action, will it ease public fears, anxiety, and bolster confidence in the city leaders’ abilities to handle the police scandal and all of its ramifications?  At this point, we will have to just take the mayor’s suggestion, from last night’s council meeting, to ”stay tuned” and see what happens.

Photo:  FLLewis/A Writer’s Groove — Burbank Police Vehicle

The legal problems for the city of Burbank and its embattled police department got a whole lot worse this past week. On Tuesday, well-respected Ex-Deputy Police Chief Bill Taylor filed a lawsuit against the city, alleging that he was demoted to captain for drawing attention to several serious incidents in the department, including discrimination against a group of minority officers. Taylor joins four Burbank police officers, a lieutenant, and a former detective, in suing the city for alleged misconduct and unfair treatment in the BPD.

The filing of the Taylor lawsuit comes as no surprise. Rumors about it have been making the rounds in the city for weeks now. Nevertheless, the filing of the suit in Los Angeles Superior Court amounts to a legal bomb blowing up in Burbank. I have a copy of the lawsuit, so here are the major incidents cited by Taylor, which he says cost him his position as Deputy Police Chief.

FIRST INCIDENT

“During March 2009, a sworn employee of the Burbank Police Department was accused of sexually harassing numerous females at the Burbank Animal Shelter. The employee was accused of inappropriate sexual comments and gestures. When Claimant (Taylor) was notified of the allegations of sexual harassment, he recommended to Chief of Police Tim Stehr that the employee be placed on administrative leave pending an investigation. Chief of Police Stehr became agitated and demanded that the employee not be placed on administrative leave for a long period of time and ultimately directed Claimant (Taylor) to bring the employee back to work prematurely before sufficient investigation had been undertaken. Claimant (Taylor) informed the City Manager (Mike Flad) about this incident and that it was handled inappropriately on or about April or May 2009.”

The suit alleges, “… Chief Stehr’s motivation to retaliate against Plaintiff (Taylor) arises from his own personal experiences being subjected to discipline for having sexual intercourse in a police vehicle while on duty. Consequently, Stehr minimized complaints of sexual misconduct and frowned upon Plaintiff (Taylor) for reporting it and taking the issue seriously.”

SECOND INCIDENT

“Claimant (Taylor) repeatedly complained from April 2008 through April 2009, to Stehr that minority (African-American and Hispanic) probationary police officers were being singled out by the Patrol Captain (Pat Lynch) at the time, and some of his staff, for termination on account of their race. Claimant  (Taylor) was able to stop the terminations by refusing to support the record that had been unjustly prepared to support the potential terminations.”

“On or about April or May 2009, Claimant (Taylor) informed the City Manager (Flad) that some department personnel were attempting to unfairly terminate probationary minority officers.”

THIRD INCIDENT

“In or about January 2007, an IA investigation had been initiated based upon an allegation that a lieutenant, while he held the rank of sergeant, had used excessive force against a suspect. The investigation was conducted, interviews were taken, and evidence was gathered. In or around 2007 all of the documents, flash drive and interview tapes pertaining to the case that were stored in a locked office in the Burbank Police Department were stolen. The theft could have only been committed by an employee of the Burbank Police Department. In a memo to Stehr dated November 19, 2007, Claimant (Taylor) requested that an outside agency be contacted and brought into the Burbank Police Department to investigate what appeared to be a burglary within the Department by Department employees. In the memo, Claimant (Taylor) specifically requested that the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department and the Burbank City Attorney’s office become involved. Claimant’s (Taylor’s) request to bring in the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department was angrily denied. On or about April or May 2009, Claimant (Taylor) informed the City Manager (Flad) about the 2007 burglary and the Chief’s failure to take appropriate action.”

These allegations are explosive because they show a direct link to one of the most powerful officials in Burbank city government, City Manager Mike Flad. If indeed Flad had knowledge of these incidents and his actions were as described in the lawsuit, well, the city manager should find himself on the hot seat answering some pretty tough questions. Also, if Flad knew about these incidents in the Burbank Police Department, were other city hall officials aware of them as well? 

Also in my opinion, if Taylor’s allegations are true, his reactions to these incidents should have earned him a promotion and not demotion.    

Frequently, Taylor has been described as the moral compass of the Burbank P.D.  Stripping Taylor of his Deputy Police Chief position and knocking him down to captain sends a disturbing message. It says the Burbank Police Department is adrift in troubled waters without sufficient direction and guidance. A situation that could prove to be very costly for the city and its citizens.

Meanwhile late yesterday, a statement slamming the lawsuit and Captain Taylor was posted on the Burbank city website:  ”…The City intends to vigorously defend this case and seek all available and appropriate sanctions, including court costs and attorney’s fees, against Mr. Taylor for filing this false and frivolous lawsuit and defaming the reputations of the City and Police Department.” 

Photo: FLLewis/A Writer’s Groove

A human rights issue in China stirred up the Burbank City Council meeting last night. I was there for the first public comments section and heard some passionate supporters of the Chinese health and spiritual movement Falun Gong speak out. They attempted to bear witness to the persecution of the practice by China, which considers Falun Gong a cult.

During a 10 year crackdown, thousands of Falun Gong devotees reportedly have been killed, tortured or thrown into jails or labor camps. One of the speakers, Yi-Yuan Chang, claims Falun Gong is practiced in more than 100 countries, including the U.S. — and specifically in Van Nuys.

What the speakers hoped to do was drum up support for the Falun Gong victims in China and backing for the U.S. House of Representatives House Resolution 605 which recognizes the persecution and calls for an end to the campaign. Instead, they were reminded by Mayor Gary Bric several times that the focus of public comments should be Burbank City business. While they got a sympathetic response from Vice-Mayor Anja Reinke, Councilman Dave Golonski insisted their cause was outside the parameters of Burbank city business.

Meanwhile, the city council reacted more positively to a group of South Victory Boulevard merchants. The council members offered words of encouragement to the merchants who returned for a second week to complain about the loss of curbside parking and the damaging effect that is having on their businesses. Again, Burbank Traffic Engineer Ken Johnson agreed to meet with the business owners to try to come up with a solution.

 What most of the merchants want is for the South Victory and West Alameda Avenue intersection to be changed back to the way it was, something city officials seems reluctant to do at this point. Apparently the traffic changes, including a second turn lane, were the result of a 1997 agreement, which was not revisited before being implemented.

Also, activist Mike Nolan appeared before the city council again and requested new information on the police department:”How many police personnel are on administrative leave?” Nolan wanted to know how much money the city is shelling out for those leaves. Later, Senior Assistant City Attorney Terry Stevenson would say only statistics could be released to Nolan. That means no names of officers.

Oh, there’s another development in that controversial case of those so-called leaked personnel files and documents of former Burbank Police Detective Chris Dunn. Yesterday Dunn’s attorney announced in a press release the filing of a lawsuit against the city. Jim Carlile broke the story on his blog.

The lawyer’s press release says Dunn has “…  filed a detailed complaint today against the City of Burbank seeking damages and injunctive relief after the city deliberately and illegally provided his confidential personnel file to a local newspaper. ”

“The complaint discloses that the City provided Christopher Cadelago of the Burbank Leader newspaper and other members of the media and the general public confidential documents from Dunn’s official personnel file in direct violation of specific provisions of California’s constitutional privacy protections, several state laws and numerous judicial orders.”  Check out more of the press release on Carlile’s blog.

 Also, over on The Burbank Leader’s new blog, Following the Leader, Burbank City Attorney Dennis Barlow answers some questions about the confidentiality of police officers’ personnel files. Interesting reading, but I don’t think Barlow’s answers really explain the actions of the City Attorney’s Office in regards to the Dunn lawsuit.  

Photo: FLLewis/A Writer’s Groove — Burbank City Hall

That discrimination lawsuit filed by five members of the Burbank PD last Thursday, popped up several times at the Burbank City Council meeting last night. First, it was on the written agenda as having been discussed with legal counsel earlier in the afternoon during the council’s closed session. Also seven, yes that’s right,  potential cases against the city were brought up in that behind-closed-doors discussion as well.

The present lawsuit alleges a pattern of discriminatory hiring and promotional practices, harassment, retaliation and other offenses in the Burbank PD. It was brought up or alluded to by several speakers during the public comments. Both City Manager Mike Flad and Councilman Dave Golonski reiterated Burbank’s policy for zero-tolerance when it comes to discrimination. Neither spoke directly about the allegations.

Although the council would not discuss the lawsuit pubicly, it was definitely at the core of a new controversy that flared up at the meeting. The council decided to reconsider its vote of four applicants to fill vacancies on the Burbank Police Commission. A visibly upset Councilman David Gordon was the only  “no” vote out of five, and he called the action  “wrong,” and “a reshuffling of the democratic process.”  Even though none of the applicants were mentioned by name, it was clear during the heated debate who was the target of the re-vote campaign.

The unidentified applicant is apparently on some form of probation from a DUI. The police commission application did not ask about criminal background, so how did this become an issue? Police Chief Tim Stehr admitted at the council meeting that someone in his department brought it to his attention. Stehr passed on the information to the city staff and the city attorney then informed council members.

Chief Stehr is one of the defendants specifically named in that Burbank Police discrimination lawsuit. The unidentified applicant reportedly has stellar credentials for fighting racism — one of the main accusations in that suit. You gotta wonder, if Stehr and his sources in the police department came up with that DUI information in an attempt to get the unidentified applicant removed from the police commission.

Councilman Gordon was clearly uncomfortable with the timing of the DUI revelation and how the information came to the council. However, other council members appeared to be more concerned with creating a police commission with a certain image, during what they frequently referred to as this “sensitive” time. By the way, Mayor/City Council member Gary Bric has disclosed in the past and did so again at last night’s meeting, that he got a DUI, 13 years ago.  

So who would the proponents of the re-vote campaign like to see on the police commission? Well, probably Joe Gunn, the chairman of the police commission, who did not get a seat on the panel during the first vote. Gunn wrote that infamous e-mail to fellow police commissioners dated May 13, 2009.

In the e-mail, Gunn asked police commissioners not to talk to certain city officials about, “…a major investigation going on within the Burbank Police Department.” Also, Gunn wrote: “Please refrain from asking city council members and the city manager about this investigation. They also do not have all the facts at this time and repeated requests for information keeps stirring the controversy and gives ammunition to those who wish to do the Department harm.”

This Gunn e-mail outraged some locals who feel the police commission’s job is to provide oversight for the police department and to be first and foremost, looking out for the best interest of the residents of Burbank. I agree with that, but believe the police commission’s effectiveness in carrying out its duties is now hampered by its own controversy.

Photo: FLLewis/A Writer’s Groove — Burbank Police and Fire Headquarters

A controversial lawsuit filed by a Burbank police Lieutenant and four officers last Thursday is the talk of the town. In fact, the story is still getting a lot of exposure across the Internet and in the media. Today, the lead lawyer, whose firm filed the lawsuit, reiterated the allegations of widespread discrimination, harassment, retaliation, and other misconduct in the Burbank PD at a news conference. 

Attorney Solomon E. Gresen accused the Burbank PD of giving preferential treatment to white males and utilizing flawed hiring practices, “…. all minority officers must be quote, unquote white enough to be hired.” On KNX 1070 newsradio today, Burbank City Attorney, Dennis Barlow, responded to the suit by saying in an interview: “… we don’t like to try our cases in the press. We like to try them in the courtroom.”

Well, Attorney Barlow may be looking forward to taking this case to trial, but that’s not what some Burbank residents want to hear. If the allegations are true, some feel the city should settle now, rather than go through a long drawn out trial. No doubt a settlement will be expensive now, but a court decision that favors the defendants could be even more so later. Also, the way I see it,  when you weigh the damage to the image of city, the morale of the Burbank PD, and public confidence, a quick settlement makes better sense than a lengthy court battle.

The lawsuit was filed by Burbank Lieutenant Omar Rodriguez, police officers Jamal Childs, Elfego Rodriguez, Steve Karagiosian, and Cindy Guillen-Gomez.

Photo: FLLewis/A Writer’s Groove — Burbank police vehicle

Like a ticking time bomb, folks in the know have been waiting for an explosion of bad news and legal trouble to hit the city of Burbank. It happened on Thursday, May 28, but the bomb, in the form of a lawsuit, came from a surprising source — several members of the city’s own police force.

Late Thursday, Burbank’s top city officials were shaken up over the filing of the suit by Lieutenant Omar Rodriguez, along with officers Jamal Childs, Cindy Guillen-Gomez, Steve Karagiosian, and Elfego Rodriguez. On Friday, a slew of e-mails about the suit and its content landed in my in-box. Last night, I got a copy of the lawsuit as well. Also, stories broke in the media, including the Burbank Leader and the Daily News.

The lawsuit allegations are alarming and claim a rampant pattern of discrimination, sexual harassment, and retaliation in the Burbank Police Department. In the 50-plus page complaint there are numerous charges from the plaintiffs of witnessing or being subjected to offensive language based on color, race, gender or sexual orientation; examples, “fags,” “dykes,” “wetbacks,” “taco venders,” “beaners,” “spics,” “towel heads,” “Armos,” “Julios,”  ”niggers,” and  ”Malcolm X.”

Also, the suit questioned promotional practices on the force citing the example that “…no African-American employee in the entire history of the Burbank PD has ever been promoted above the title of ‘police officer.’” According to the suit, there are currently five black officers out of approximately 165 officers on the Burbank PD.

Photo: FLLewis/A Writer’s Groove — Burbank Police Chief Tim Stehr

 As I reported here on this blog, at the May 12 city council meeting I had a brief conversation with Burbank Police Chief Tim Stehr about the problems in his department and the discontent among some officers. Stehr admitted, “… there are some issues…” but insisted “… (we will ) work together to fix them.” Apparently, the chief’s efforts were not enough to stop the filing this lawsuit, which some media reports say could cost the city as much as $25 million dollars.

I’m a long time tax paying Burbank resident. Also, I’m an African American female. The allegations in this lawsuit are shocking and disturbing to me.  My confidence in the Burbank police department has been shattered. City officials need to move swiftly to either prove these allegations false or admit the failings of the police department and immediately come up with a plan to correct the problems with strong decisive actions.

There is a lot of fallout from the Black Friday death of a temp employee at a New York Wal-Mart store. The worker, Jdimytai Damour, was 6-5 and tipped the scales at 270 pounds. Nevertheless, when a bargain hungry throng of two thousand or so shoppers rammed through the doors, Damour was trampled to death. A few days ago, Damour’s family named Wal-Mart as a defendant in a wrongful death lawsuit.

Fred, not his real name, says he’s survived some dangerous Black Fridays at Wal-Mart. He remembers back in 2006, when the Las Vegas area Wal-Mart he was working at had more special sale items than ever before. There were additional police on hand and extra precautions. “We had opened the doors and erected barriers to hold back the crowds,” Fred says.  However, the situation went from calm and orderly to a riot when a manager declared over the loudspeaker that the merchandise would be distributed on a “first come first serve basis.”

“There was suddenly a loud roaring sound of people screaming, pushing forward. They attacked the police officers, Wal-Mart associates, anyone standing in front of the pallets of the items (electronic, toys, appliances, and house wares). I was at the door of the store but I could see the mass of humanity pushing, shoving, fighting, yelling, and behaving like a pride of lions on the first meal. Wal-Mart supervisors jumped onto the pallets and began to throw items into the crowd to save their employees from being crushed by shoppers. It took this effort and the depletion of the items to bring order. The police arrested at least 10 shoppers; five Wal-Mart employees were injured,” according to Fred now a former Wal-Mart employee.

Before I spoke with Fred, I thought the tragic death of a Wal-Mart employee on November 28 occurred during a rare episode of shopper insanity. Now, after listening to Fred recount his experience, clearly Wal-Mart has had crowd control problems before. It is really too bad the retailer did not make some serious changes to curtail the Black Friday mob mentality among shoppers at its stores before one man lost his life needlessly.