LAPD Officer Speaks Publicly About Alleged Sex Harassment : Law enforcement: At city personnel hearing, sergeant says she is hurt and angry about her former partner’s actions.

Speaking publicly Wednesday for the first time about a sexual harassment case that has reverberated throughout the Los Angeles Police Department for two years, a veteran officer tearfully described the treatment she said she received from her partner.

“I hate what my partner subjected me to,” said Sgt. Jan Stroud, a 12-year veteran who was recently promoted to sergeant. “I’m hurt, and I’m angry.”

Stroud’s case involved a veteran homicide detective, Carlos Brizzolara, who allegedly pushed her head toward his lap as she bent over to pick up a napkin in a restaurant. An LAPD Board of Rights found that Brizzolara had touched Stroud inappropriately but ruled that the detective was not guilty of sexual harassment because he did not receive sexual gratification from that act.

That ruling has been widely derided by legal experts. Brizzolara, who through his lawyer has denied any wrongdoing, was subsequently found guilty of eight other charges of sexually harassing Stroud. That board’s findings have been challenged in court, and he is expected to undergo another disciplinary hearing soon.

Stroud has kept a low profile about the case but testified Wednesday as part of a hearing by the City Council Personnel Committee on the subject of sexual harassment at the LAPD. That hearing, the first of two that Councilwoman Jackie Goldberg has scheduled on the topic, featured testimony from two police officers who said they had been harassed, as well as from critics of the department and several of its top officials, including Police Chief Willie L. Williams.

Struggling to maintain her composure, Stroud told members of the committee that she had come forward because she realized that “change does not come through silence.” Members of the crowd gathered in the City Council chambers applauded loudly as Stroud concluded her remarks.

During the hearing, LAPD officials acknowledged that harassment is a significant problem for the Police Department. Though they said a relatively small number of officers are responsible, they agreed that aggressive steps are needed to root out harassment and clearly signal that officers may not mistreat colleagues because of their gender.

Williams cited the LAPD’s recent decision to audit the West Los Angeles Division, a police station with a reputation for hostility toward women, as evidence of the department’s new commitment to attacking the problem. Although that audit is not complete, The Times first reported some details of the inquiry last month.

“The reason that investigation became news is because the management of the Los Angeles Police Department decided that we were not going to step aside,” Williams said. “The linen may get dirty in the short term, but it’s the only way we can get it clean in the long term.”

Goldberg and other city officials took pains to credit Williams for his personal commitment to battling sexual harassment, but they worried that the chief alone may not be able to reform attitudes in the department.

In the meantime, several officials said they believe the department’s reputation as a hostile place for women may be hampering recruitment efforts. The Christopher Commission and other panels have touted the skills of female police officers, who are considered an important component of the LAPD’s efforts to take a more community-oriented approach.

“This problem of sexual harassment not only prevents employees who are already here from progressing to their level of expertise,” Police Commissioner Art Mattox said, “but word gets around, and we have a problem attracting women to this department.”

Councilman Zev Yaroslavsky agreed.

“It’s a miracle that we retain as many women as we do,” he said. “Why would anyone want to stay?”