Deputy Who Complained of Harassment Awarded $651,000

A federal court jury has awarded $651,000 to a Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputy, finding he had been harassed by the department because his wife complained that she was forced to work at the Gorman substation for no pay.

While her husband was assigned to the substation--where deputies and their wives live rent free--Caryn Suhr worked the front desk, answered phones and cleaned jail cells as part of longstanding department practice that the wives of resident deputies perform those duties without pay.

After Mark Suhr was transferred from the post, the Suhrs filed a multimillion-dollar lawsuit alleging sexual and marital status discrimination against Caryn Suhr, along with various violations of labor law.

U.S. District Judge William Rea ruled earlier in the six-week trial that Caryn Suhr was a volunteer, and dismissed her portion of the suit.

But the judge did not dismiss the couple’s claims that Mark Suhr was harassed because his wife complained about her status. He was subjected to a “bogus” internal investigation, alleging he failed to arrest a marijuana suspect, that was later dropped for lack of evidence, Suhr attorney Bill Heine said.

The department also denied Mark Suhr overtime pay, downgraded his evaluations and took away his police dog, Heine said.

A Sheriff’s Department spokesman, Capt. Jeff Springs, said the department has not decided whether to appeal Tuesday’s ruling.

The lawsuit also demanded that the department pay wages to wives who lived and worked at the substation, a remote outpost in a tiny community just off Interstate 5 in the mountains near the Kern County line.

But families of deputies assigned to the station no longer live there, and wives no longer staff the desk, officials said.