5 School Police Employees File Race Bias, Sex Harassment Suit

Five employees of the Pomona Unified School District’s 20-member Police Department have filed a lawsuit against the department alleging racial discrimination and sexual harassment.

Three of the employees are school police officers, one is a security officer and one is a security aide. The suit, filed Wednesday in Los Angeles County Superior Court in Pomona, seeks compensatory and punitive damages and a public acknowledgment of wrongdoing from the district.

Alfredo Mirande, attorney for the African American and Latino plaintiffs, said the employees were passed over for promotions, unfairly criticized for their work, and that a female employee was verbally harassed by a supervisor.

Kim Pine, the school district’s public information officer, said the district is reviewing complaints filed earlier by the employees, but that “the district has reason to question the motives of several apparently disgruntled employees.”