Payment Urged in Harassing of Female Deputy

A former female sheriff’s deputy deserves $500,000 for being subjected to a pattern of harassment by male deputies who allegedly urinated in her locker and urged jail inmates to expose themselves in front of her, a county government claims board has recommended.

The County Board of Supervisors, which makes the final decision in such cases, rarely overturns the recommendations of the three-member Los Angeles County Claims Board. The Sheriff’s Department and the county counsel’s office have also recommended settling the lawsuit.

The bizarre series of incidents came to light in 1991 when rookie Sheriff’s Deputy Alyson Ann Fox sued the county, the Sheriff’s Department and several deputies for $1 million, citing sexual harassment, a hostile work environment, retaliation and emotional distress that stemmed from her six-month stint at Peter J. Pitchess Honor Rancho in Castaic in 1990.

After Fox reported the incidents--which also included the allegation that she was locked in a jail holding area--the Sheriff’s Department investigated and found that five deputies had urged inmates to commit obscene acts in front of Fox and to pelt her with tomatoes and eggs.

Two of the deputies involved were fired and three others resigned. Fox later quit the department.

Monday, neither Fox nor her lawyer could be reached for comment.

The attorney for the county who handled the case said that although the settlement proposal is expensive, it avoids the risk of the county losing an even larger jury award.

“Half a million dollars is a lot of money, so we didn’t get off easy,” said Kevin C. Brazile, principal deputy county counsel. “A jury could have gone much lower or much higher.”

The proposed settlement includes $200,000 in legal fees. Fox was represented by attorney Johnnie L. Cochran Jr.’s law firm.

According to Fox’s suit and county records, Fox was a sheriff’s deputy at the Honor Rancho from May to November, 1990, when she was subjected to harassment.

During that time, she contended that a dead rat was placed in her mailbox, she was called obscene and derogatory names, she was shown sexually explicit drawings and she was told sexually offensive jokes.

A Sheriff’s Department investigation of the incidents revealed that one night in July, 1990, deputies persuaded two inmates to expose their buttocks and yell obscenities at Fox, who was stationed in a guard tower.

After Fox ignored them, three deputies rounded up 10 to 15 inmates who exposed themselves, masturbated and threw food and other objects at the deputy, the report said.

Fox has twice attempted to return to work as a sheriff’s deputy, but she was unable to last more than a few weeks because of continued emotional distress, fear and her inability to do her job, a county report said.

Three deputies--Gregory M. Held, Wayne A. Horning and Ronald N. Owen--were first fired, and then allowed to resign. Deputies John Brisslinger and David Ponsant, who were fired, were on departmental probation when the incidents occurred.