A former Los Angeles County assistant sheriff is suing Sheriff Alex Villanueva and his division over what she claims was a demotion of her place completed in retaliation for complaining a few deputy kneeling on an inmate’s head in March.
Robin Limon, who served on the command workers slightly below Villanueva, filed the lawsuit within the Los Angeles Superior Courtroom on Wednesday. Limon alleges retaliation, intentional infliction of emotional misery, defamation and violations of the Public Security Officer’s Invoice of Rights. She is looking for at the least $3 million in damages.
“The info and proof don’t help the plaintiff’s claims, and the case shall be vigorously defended in court docket,” the Sheriff’s Division mentioned in an announcement to The Instances on Thursday.
Limon’s lawsuit claims that Villanueva retaliated in opposition to her and different whistleblowers inside the division for exposing his coverup of an incident involving Deputy Douglas Johnson kneeling on the pinnacle of a handcuffed inmate, Enzo Escalante, on the San Fernando Courthouse in March 2021.
Limon alleges that she was falsely blamed by the sheriff for masking up the incident, and was compelled to retire early from the division on March 29.
“Villanueva’s legacy as sheriff shall be generally known as a lot for incompetence as corruption,” the lawsuit states. “It would take years for any future sheriff to wash up the mess.”
In keeping with the swimsuit, Villanueva spared Johnson from self-discipline if he promised to destroy the footage of the incident, which was recorded on safety cameras on the courthouse and obtained by The Instances in late March.
Johnson can be at the moment concerned in a separate trial for a lawsuit filed by the widow of Lakers legend Kobe Bryant, Vanessa Bryant, for allegedly disseminating photographs of the helicopter crash that killed Bryant and eight others, together with their 13-year-old daughter, Gianna, in January 2020.
Limon’s lawsuit states that Villanueva was making an attempt to keep away from “dangerous media” protection of the division, and was involved over potential public scrutiny over failing to carry Johnson and different deputies accountable.
Limon additionally claims that the sheriff blocked a prison investigation into the incident with Escalante on the courthouse and lied about his consciousness of what befell by claiming to not have seen the video till months later, as a way to “match a pretend timeline.”
“Whistleblowers are alleged to be protected by state and federal statutes and are alleged to be secure from retaliation,” Limon’s swimsuit states. “Nonetheless, the whistleblowers are usually not secure in LASD and are usually not protected by the county.”
