Former police officer’s appeal denied

A state appeals court this week denied the appeal of former Burbank police officer Elfego Rodriguez, who challenged a decision to drop him from a lawsuit with four other officers.

Rodriguez alleged he was discriminated against and that the city and police department failed to take reasonable steps to address the situation, according to court documents.

Rodriguez, together with former officer Omar Rodriguez and officers Cindy Guillen-Gomez, Steve Karagiosian and Jamal Childs, filed a lawsuit in May 2009 that included claims of sexual harassment and violations of the Fair Employment and Housing Act.

In July 2010, a trial court granted the city’s request to drop Elfego Rodriguez from the case, agreeing with city defense attorneys that his claims had no merit.

Elfego Rodriguez appealed that decision, but this week, an appellate court ruled “none of the contentions has merit.”

The court also said “there is insufficient evidence to raise a triable issue that [the] city took adverse employment actions against [Rodriguez]. Therefore, [Rodriguez’s] claims for retaliation and harassment fail.”