Claim Filed in Firing of S. Pasadena Officer

In the third legal action against South Pasadena in a month, a former South Pasadena reserve police officer filed a claim against the city on Wednesday, alleging that he was unjustly fired for cursing at a radio dispatcher.

George Brown worked as an unpaid volunteer reserve officer for three years before he was placed on administrative leave following the incident in fall 1995. He was dismissed last February.

The Police Department is being examined by an outside private investigative firm, hired by the mayor and interim city manager, after a sex scandal and questions about a hit-and-run accident involving an off-duty officer.

Police documents say Brown was fired because he demonstrated “attitude and arrogance” by also insisting that another officer ride in the back seat of a police cruiser. Brown says that request was casual and that his one expletive did not justify losing a job he did for the love of the work.

“I think the citizens of South Pasadena have lost something because I was damn good at what I did and I didn’t cost them a dime,” said Brown, who was once commended for controlling a knife-wielding man when he would have been justified in using lethal force.

He said the department brass could have imposed discipline on him for the 1995 incidents, but instead violated procedure and fired him.

Brown said he is not seeking money, but rather to erase a smear on his resume. He asks for unspecified monetary damages in the form filed Wednesday.

Interim City Manager Linda Holmes said she had not received the claim and could not discuss the case.