The Region - News from Feb. 22, 1985

A former Hawthorne policewoman filed a $1-million sex discrimination lawsuit in Los Angeles federal court, contending that she was “involuntarily retired” without a hearing. The suit filed on behalf of Shari Barberic, 31, charges that Hawthorne Police Chief Kenneth Stonebraker incorrectly used “psychological disability” as grounds to dismiss her last year, despite a spotless three-year record. Barberic said she was subjected to harassment after she married a fellow Hawthorne police officer and filed a complaint with the district attorney’s office over an arrest in which she was injured. Stonebraker declined to comment on the suit.