Vernon Sues to Stop Probe of His Religion

Los Angeles Assistant Police Chief Robert L. Vernon, claiming he is the victim of a “witch hunt,” filed a $10-million lawsuit against the city on Monday, demanding a halt to an internal police investigation into whether his conservative religious beliefs conflict with his official LAPD duties.

Vernon, a longtime elder in the Grace Community Church in Sun Valley, charged in the suit that the investigation, which was ordered June 5 by the Los Angeles Police Commission, has had a “chilling effect” on his right to practice his religion.

He added that the review has seriously damaged his career and has left him suffering deep humiliation, anxiety and distress.

Vernon, the lawsuit said, has been “chilled in the exercise of his religious beliefs, fearing that he can no longer worship as he chooses, consult with his minister and the elders of his church, participate in Christian fellowship and give public testimony to his faith without severe consequences.”

The assistant chief declined Monday to discuss the lawsuit, which was filed in U.S. District Court. But one of his attorneys, David L. Casterline, said Vernon has been irreparably harmed by the investigation.

“This man has suffered substantially,” Casterline said. “He’s suffered the loss of his reputation. He’s suffered the loss of an opportunity to obtain his goals. He doesn’t feel he could be chief of police because of this.

“He’s been branded as a religious fanatic.”

The suit named as defendants the city of Los Angeles, the City Council and the Police Commission. In addition, commissioners Stanley K. Sheinbaum and Jesse Brewer, and former commissioner Melanie Lomax, along with Councilman Zev Yaroslavksy, were named as individual defendants.

Sheinbaum, the commission president, declined to comment about the suit until he has had a chance to talk to city attorneys. However, he did express concern that the investigation has not been completed.

“It’s going far too slowly,” he said. “It’s not as comprehensive as Chief Vernon’s claming it to be. But I don’t know why it is taking so long.”

Brewer, Lomax and Yaroslavksy could not be reached for comment. Michael Qualls, a spokesman in the city attorney’s office, declined to discuss the lawsuit until his office has reviewed the matter.

The investigation was ordered amid allegations that his church activities conflicted with his duties as a public servant running the daily operations of the Police Department. Some department insiders questioned whether Vernon gave preferential treatment to officers who shared his religious beliefs.

But according to Casterline, Vernon already has been unfairly punished by the stigma from the investigation, particularly since his own attempts to learn the full extent of the probe have been unsuccessful.

The lawsuit claims the investigation harms his religious liberty and violates the church-state separation doctrine for several reasons. Among those, Casterline said, is that the investigation is an invasion of his right to religious privacy, and that it sends a message that his religious views are a “suspect, if not disqualifying, factor in his employment.”