LOS ANGELES : Ex-LAPD Trainee Awarded $814,000 in Suit Over Firing
A jury Wednesday awarded $814,000 to an Irvine man who filed an age discrimination suit against the Los Angeles Police Department after he was fired as an officer trainee at age 41.
The Los Angeles Superior Court jury’s damage award followed an eight-day trial stemming from the suit brought by Philip De Teresi, who lost his “recruit officer” job and was denied the chance to become a full-fledged patrol officer.
Attorneys for the LAPD maintained that De Teresi was fired because he failed to meet physical requirements for staying on the force and being promoted to street patrol.
One of his attorneys, R. Stephen Bolinger, said two police officers testified that they heard another officer make derogatory remarks about De Teresi’s age. De Teresi alleged that the discrimination surfaced when a group of officers claimed he had not been able to pass part of an LAPD self-defense test.
The $814,000 award includes $95,000 for back pay, $124,000 for lost pension funds, $395,000 for “front pay”--money he could have been making since his termination--and $200,000 in punitive damages.
De Teresi, who now works for the U.S. Marine Corps, was fired Aug. 13, 1990, after working for the LAPD for eight months, his attorneys said.
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