Fat Flap Tests Thin Blue Line

A veteran LAPD officer in the West Valley Division appealed her suspension without pay before a police Board of Rights hearing Tuesday, saying the action occurred after she complained about a “No Fat Cops” poster in her supervisor’s office.

Johnneen Jones, an officer for 12 years, says she objected to the poster because at 5 feet 6 and 180 pounds, she considers herself overweight.

Activists from the National Assn. for Advancement of Fat Acceptance showed up in support of Jones. The Sacramento-based organization lobbies for fat-friendly legislation, conducts legal research and raises funds to fight anti-fat messages.

“This disturbs me on so many levels,” said Linda Ramos, president of the organization’s Los Angeles chapter. “I’m a fat person, and I interact with the Los Angeles Police Department all the time. The idea that this represents someone who looks like me is very scary.”

At the hearing, LAPD Sgt. Jerry Ruffin defended the department’s action. Ruffin, the LAPD’s advocate in the case, said Jones was not suspended for her viewpoint, but because she refused to follow the orders of a detective who told her to leave the captain’s office where the poster hung more than a year ago.

The Board of Rights will determine whether to overturn the suspension or to impose disciplinary action against Jones, including possible dismissal.

Jones says she was taking a photograph in the office in June 1999 because she had complained about the poster to a sergeant in another division, who she says asked her for a picture of it.

The poster, about 2 feet high and 1 1/2 feet wide, depicts an overweight man, wearing only a towel around his waist, breaking a scale. A blue police uniform is hanging nearby and “Fat Grows on You” is written across the top with “No Fat Cops” written on the bottom.

It hung in the office of former West Valley Division Capt. Julie Nelson, who has since transferred to another division of the LAPD.

“I complained and now they’re retaliating against me,” Jones said. “It’s an inappropriate poster.” She said she is being targeted for her outspokenness, not for her weight, which she contended has never affected her job performance.

LAPD officials would not comment on Jones’ claim beyond what they said in the hearing.

The hearing, held in a private downtown office building before a three-member panel consisting of an LAPD commander, a captain and an attorney, is expected to take several days and not conclude until next month, according to Jones’ attorney, Bradley Gage.

“It’s clear that she’s been targeted,” Gage said. “She broke the code of silence, which is also a code of fear.”

Jones’ father, Gerald Jones, a retired 29-year LAPD officer, accompanied his daughter to the hearing.

“I’m hurt,” he said. “This is like a battle between two families.”