A former Long Beach Police Department officer is suing the city of Long Beach for discrimination.
Lawyer David Tibor told a jury on Thursday that ex-Officer Brent Record was fired in 2011 for being gay, even though he had an “exemplary record and good relations with his colleagues for the first seven of his eight years on the force.”
Things changed, however, when Record began being scrutinized by Sgts. Gerardo Prieto and Scott Jenson, who Tibor claims harrassed and discriminated against Record.
“They were looking to get him terminated, that was clear,” Tibor told the Los Angeles Superior Court jury in his opening statement for the lawsuit, which was originally filed in June 2012.
Deputy Long Beach City Attorney Haleh Jenkins said Record was not fired for being gay, but instead because he was “afraid to handle the most serious of calls and did his best to avoid them,” which “put the citizens of Long Beach in danger.” Jenkins said Record also resisted attempts by the LBPD management to correct the behavior.
When officers began complaining about Record, Prieto and Jenson monitored his behavior for a week and provided information to the department’s internal affairs division, Jenkins said.
Record was fired in November 2011 by then-Chief Jim McDonnell, who found true 14 out of 15 serious allegations of misconduct filed against Record.
Tibor countered by saying Record was subjected to derogatory remarks about being gay from fellow officers and also found fliers mocking him for his sexual preference in the men’s restroom.
Record complained to Lt. Elizabeth Griffin about being overly scrutinized by the two sergeants, but she did not believe him and instead gave the benefit of the doubt to Prieto and Jenson, Tibor told the court.
Tibor said Prieto and Jenson, who knew Record was gay, once gave him an assignment, saying it was “right up your alley.”
Jenkins said that Griffin, whose responses to Record’s complaints were criticized by Tibor, is herself openly gay. Jenkins said Record never raised the issue of his sexuality until he filed the current lawsuit in July 2012.
Requests for comment from either side of the case by the Long Beach Post were not returned on Thursday afternoon.
City News Service contributed to this report.