Latino Group Sues LAPD, Charging Bias in Promotions

A leading civil rights organization sued the Los Angeles Police Department on Wednesday, alleging that a Latino officer was unfairly passed over for promotion in favor of less qualified white candidates.

“The LAPD has shown consistent problems in promoting its Latino officers,” said attorney Thomas A. Saenz of the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, which sued on behalf of Lt. Patricio P. Hernandez--a 20-year LAPD veteran.

According to Saenz, the LAPD not only discriminated against Hernandez because of his race, but also blocked his promotion in retaliation for recommendations he made while working as an internal affairs investigator.

LAPD officials said they had not seen the lawsuit and could not comment on its allegations. Ted Goldstein, spokesman for the city attorney, could not be reached for comment.

Hernandez’s lawsuit, which was filed in federal court, alleges that several officers were promoted over him, even though he outscored them on the department’s promotional exam. Saenz said Hernandez has “an exemplary service record,” including “outstanding performance evaluations.”

Although the department has made strides over the years in recruiting and hiring Latino officers, it has not been nearly as successful in promoting Latinos into supervisory positions, MALDEF officials said.

“The many hard-working Latino officers in the department deserve a fair opportunity to advance to the highest ranks, yet many have been arbitrarily and unfairly denied that chance,” Saenz said.

Ruben Padilla, president of the LAPD’s Latin American Law Enforcement Assn., said the number of Latinos in command staff positions does not reflect the city’s population.

About half of the city’s population is Latino, Padilla said, but only seven out of 64 officers at the rank of captain are Latino.

“The numbers speak for themselves,” Padilla said. “It’s very clear we’re way underrepresented.”

Earlier this week, LAPD officials acknowledged in a report to the civilian Police Commission that the department has failed to meet 10 of 32 minority hiring and promotion goals, which were set in 1992 to settle a suit on behalf of minority applicants and officers unfairly denied jobs or promotions.

Saenz, who monitors the court-ordered hiring goals, called the department efforts disappointing.

Department officials, however, pointed out that they fell only one person short of meeting seven of the unrealized goals.

Chief Bernard C. Parks “is always concerned about having diversity at all the ranks and he makes a conscious effort to find opportunities for all the men and women of the LAPD,” said Cmdr. Dave Kalish.

According to Hernandez’s lawsuit, ethnicity was not the only unfair factor impeding his promotion. As a supervising officer in the internal affairs division, Hernandez oversaw investigations of alleged misconduct by LAPD officers of virtually all ranks. “Some of these investigations involved complaints that supervisory officers violated laws and internal policies in the area of equal employment,” the suit contends.

Hernandez’s findings occasionally upset his superiors and in some cases were overturned by command officers in the LAPD, the suit alleges.

Hernandez applied for promotion to the rank of captain in April 1992 and again in August 1994. Based on his score he was eligible for promotion in July 1995.

The suit, which seeks unspecified damages, contends that it was so apparent Hernandez was going to be promoted that the city had him attend a “command development” training program designed for those in the rank of captain and above. Despite the training, he was never selected for promotion.

“There is a serious dearth of Spanish-speaking officers at the highest ranks of the department, making the decision to pass over the bilingual Lt. Hernandez even more inexplicable,” Saenz said.