Nearly a month after a tense, hours-long hearing at the Hall of Justice to decide the fate of a Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department sergeant accused of spreading “rumors and/or gossip,” the agency decided this week to demote the woman despite claims she was attempting to speak out against misconduct.
Rosa Gonzalez, now a deputy, was sentenced after she shared copies of a 2021 complaint in which she alleged department officials discriminated against women, a man with possible autism and another whistleblower like her.
As The Times previously reportedGonzalez initially made her allegations in a 2022 lawsuit, in which she accused department officials of transferring her to a less desirable position shortly after she filed her complaint.
Statistics show that getting demoted is not common, and this is her case. Controversy erupted within the department. Gonzalez told the Times this week that she plans to appeal to the L.A. County Civil Service Commission.
“The actions I took in 2021 were in good faith,” he said. “The investigation against me was a complete fraud, based on my reporting of illegal employment practices and corruption to LASD management.”
He presented his case as evidence of the need for greater oversight of the department, and said punishing him for conduct that was three years old was barred under statutes of limitation for police discipline.
The Sheriff’s Department did not comment on this week’s decision, but previously told The Times that it investigates all allegations of misconduct and has policies in place to “protect individuals from any type of discrimination, harassment, retaliation and inappropriate conduct.”
Gonzalez also sued the department in 2015, claiming that an alleged deputy gang known as the Banditos was operating out of the East L.A. sheriff’s station and had created a culture of misogyny there. She said she had been the victim of sexual harassment and gender discrimination, and that Banditos members had withheld backup on dangerous calls.
When she filed a complaint about this, she alleges the department instead transferred her to a less desirable station. The county denied her allegations, but in 2019 The case was settled for $1 million,
In 2021, Gonzalez — who was a sergeant at the time — was assigned to the Bureau of Personnel Administration, which deals with hiring, promotions and transfers. While there, she said she witnessed troubling practices.
In one case, as she later alleged in her 2022 lawsuit, bureau leaders forced a woman to transfer because they said she was “not young enough.” They allegedly hired one applicant because he was attractive and male and later refused to hire another applicant because he was “possibly autistic,” the lawsuit says.
Gonzalez accused bureau leaders of conspiring to commit time card fraud, misusing charity money and allowing a rising lieutenant to cheat on a promotion exam.
In October 2021, he filed a lengthy complaint accusing bureau leaders of illegal hiring practices, retaliation, and a host of other problems. After consulting with his union representative, Gonzalez sent copies of the complaint to the alleged victims he mentioned in it.
Several weeks later, Gonzalez learned she was being investigated by the department’s internal affairs bureau. In early 2022, she filed her lawsuit accusing the department of retaliating against her for raising concerns.
Capt. Yvonne O’Brien — who was in charge of the personnel bureau at the time — had previously declined to comment, citing pending litigation. Former Sergeant Carmen Arballo, who was O’Brien’s number two at the time and is now retired, said the department considered the allegations Gonzalez made in her complaint to be unfounded.
Earlier this year, the department sent Gonzalez a letter announcing its intention to demote her because she had “spread rumors and/or gossip” that included “personal information” and “factors not related to unfair hiring practices” when sharing her complaint. She was accused of violating some of the same equity policies — which prohibit harassment based on gender, age and disability — that she originally accused her superiors of violating.
Gonzalez withdrew the case after pleading his case at a hearing last month. This week the department informed him of the outcome in a five-page letter, and Gonzalez said he has been reassigned to overnight duty at the sheriff’s station in Cerritos.
For Vince Miller, the attorney representing Gonzalez in the 2022 trial, which is still pending, it is a troubling development.
“It sends a scary message to other whistleblowers,” he told the Times. “They’re doing this to her because they know how respected she is, and I think it’s a message to all whistleblowers that this is what will happen if you speak out.”
