LAPD Women’s Complaints Spur Reprisals, Panel Told

Testifying before a City Council committee Wednesday, advocates for women at the Los Angeles Police Department said women who complain about sexual harassment are subjected to death threats, false complaints and threats from fellow officers to leave them stranded without backup in emergencies.

“Many of these women have lost their homes, lost their careers,” said Penny Harrington, a former Portland police chief and now director of the National Center for Women in Policing. “They’ve lost their families.”

Harrington appeared before the council’s Personnel Committee during an abbreviated hearing on issues of sexual harassment and discrimination at the LAPD. Councilwoman Jackie Goldberg, who chairs the committee, had expected to receive testimony from current and former police officers, but said some of those officers expressed concerns about testifying while the status of a class-action lawsuit against the department is being evaluated.

That lawsuit, known as Tipton-Whittingham vs. City of Los Angeles, is before U.S. District Judge William D. Keller, who is considering whether to allow outside parties to intervene in the case. While Keller considers that matter, a controversial proposed consent decree that would resolve some issues in the case is on hold.

According to Harrington and a number of women police officers, the issue of retaliation is shadowing the effort to identify officers who sexually harass or discriminate against colleagues. Harrington said a recent national survey of women in policing indicated that 90% of all female police officers have experienced some form of harassment, yet just a fraction of that percentage have lodged complaints within the LAPD.

“Until we can assure women who come forward that they will be protected, they will not come forward,” Harrington said.

Among those who do come forward, Harrington and Goldberg said complaints of retaliation are common. Some see positive job evaluations suddenly turn negative; some have family members and sexual partners subjected to investigations; some are falsely accused of misconduct or crimes; some are transferred despite doing nothing wrong. In some cases, Harrington said, officers are forced out of their jobs, then denied positions when they try to return.

One consequence of that treatment, said Katherine Spillar, national coordinator for the Feminist Majority Foundation, is that it is harder to recruit women to the LAPD. Spillar complained that the percentage of women being hired by the department has dipped in recent months and remains below a court-ordered goal of 20% and far below the City Council-approved goal of 43%.

Deputy Chief David J. Gascon said the LAPD is eager to hire as many qualified women candidates as possible. He asked for the help of Spillar, Harrington and others in locating women who want to be police officers.

Goldberg deferred action on the issue until January, when she expects current and former officers to testify before her committee. But the councilwoman said her experience with the issue has convinced her that a problem exists.