Bias Case Dropped as Marshal Posts Policy

Last August, three Latino deputy marshals for Los Angeles County listened while a superior, during a briefing on the county’s affirmative action program, said, “If you are black or white, you can forget about being promoted.”

The deputies--Raul Guevara, Joe Romero and Steve Sandoval--filed a complaint with the county Civil Service Commission. On Wednesday, a hearing officer said the remark by Sgt. Jim Vogts was “offensive” and “inappropriate.” The deputies agreed to drop their complaint when Marshal Robert F. Mann agreed to post the hearing officer’s findings, which include a copy of the county’s anti-discrimination policy.

Slurs Alleged

The action, which requires expected Civil Service Commission approval, was a victory not only for the three Latinos but also for two Asian-American deputy marshals who have a separate discrimination case pending.

In that case, Deputies Benjamin M. Lang and Larry Quan are claiming to have been victims of racial slurs. For example, Quan said, on one occasion he grabbed a piece of pizza for lunch and a supervisor yelled, “Larry, what are you eating? You’re supposed to eat egg rolls and chop suey.”

Future Hearings

Also on Wednesday, the Civil Service Commission ordered further hearings on the two deputies’ case.

Lt. Luis M. Najera, commander of the marshal’s personnel division, declined to comment on the two cases but denied that there is widespread discrimination in the 957-member marshal’s office.

“The only knowledge we have of any discrimination (involves) these five,” Najera said.

Vogts is currently appealing a five-day suspension growing out of the incident. Referring to the marshal’s office agreeing to post the hearing officer’s findings, he said, “They’re bailing out and there I stand.”

Sandoval said Wednesday that his first reaction to Vogts’ remark was embarrassment. “He made the remark that if you’re black or white, you can forget about being promoted. . . . He never said anything about Hispanics or any other group being promoted because they were qualified. It was more the impression we’re just to fill positions. The way he put it, I felt I was part of a group that would be denying positions to blacks or whites. And then my feelings started to change. I wasn’t embarrassed anymore. I started to feel angry.”

Guevara said the hearing officer’s finding will “get the message across that this kind of thing won’t be tolerated.”

Under the county’s affirmative action program, the marshal’s office has the goal of hiring and promoting more Latino deputies to better reflect the makeup of the county population.