Former Costa Mesa police chief sues the city, alleging he was forced out

Costa Mesa’s former police chief, who left in October, has sued the city, alleging he was forced out of his position because of political infighting at City Hall.

In the lawsuit, filed Thursday in Orange County Superior Court, Rob Sharpnack alleges the city violated the state labor code, breached his contract, retaliated against him in violation of the Fair Employment and Housing Act and violated his right to due process.

The lawsuit mirrors a claim Sharpnack filed in November in which he alleged he was forced out after raising issues with the 2019 city budget process.

Sharpnack, who joined the Police Department in 1993 and was promoted to chief in 2015, claims City Manager Lori Ann Farrell Harrison and City Attorney Kimberly Barlow forced him to resign, violating the labor code and breaching his employment contract.

The suit also alleges that city officials failed to investigate a litany of complaints Sharpnack compiled, despite his repeated attempts to disclose them to city administrators, the city attorney, members of the City Council and the Orange County district attorney’s office.

Costa Mesa Mayor Katrina Foley said Tuesday that she was unable to comment because she had not yet seen the lawsuit.

Farrell Harrison and Barlow declined requests for comment.

As a result of the infighting, the lawsuit alleges, Sharpnack suffered economic damages, including lost wages and loss of retirement pension benefits, as well as “humiliation, mental anguish and emotional and physical distress.”

The total in compensatory damages he is seeking is unclear. His claim in November sought more than $10,000 in damages for emotional distress, attorney fees and the forfeiture of “five years of potential pension earnings.”

The lawsuit recounts the drama surrounding the planning of the budget for the 2019-20 fiscal year, which Sharpnack blasted in a May 23 memo to the City Council, as well as in emails obtained by the Daily Pilot through a public records request.

Over the course of meetings last year and a series of memos Sharpnack wrote detailing his fears that the proposed budget would negatively affect the Police Department to the point of jeopardizing public safety, the professional relationship between him and other city officials deteriorated, ultimately leading to his departure, according to the lawsuit.

On June 18, the City Council approved the plan to increase the department’s budget slightly, to $49.7 million from $49.2 million. In November, the council approved a three-year plan to bankroll some projects Sharpnack had sought that had been left out of the budget.

On June 14, the lawsuit alleges, Sharpnack met with Barlow, who “[attempted] to place Sharpnack on an unrequested leave due to a perceived ‘disability’ related to his ‘stress.’”

In October, Sharpnack told the city manager that he intended to retire in December. A flurry of back-and-forth emails ensued, starting Oct. 15, with Sharpnack and the city manager’s office arguing about when he should formally announce his retirement. Farrell Harrison urged him to hold off and “be methodical and thoughtful about how and when this information is released,” according to messages the Daily Pilot obtained.

But Sharpnack announced his retirement to his staff Oct. 16. Two days later, according to the lawsuit, Farrell Harrison and Barlow called him in for a meeting and told him they “wanted him ‘gone’ that day.” The lawsuit claims that Barlow suggested Sharpnack “could simply ‘go on vacation and after a week say that [he] was enjoying the time off so much that he decided not to come back.’”

At the meeting, the lawsuit states, Sharpnack signed a document agreeing to confidentiality about the way he ended his employment with the city.

Sharpnack also alleges that Farrell Harrison and Barlow instructed him to verbally ask people to destroy or delete certain communications, and that in the case of at least one email, “I did as instructed.”

Barlow said during Tuesday night’s City Council meeting that “no emails or other records have been destroyed under my direction or anyone else’s.”

On Nov. 8, Sharpnack filed a claim with the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing and notified the city clerk, saying the city had discriminated and retaliated against him after he complained about “improper interference” in Police Department matters. That afternoon, according to the lawsuit, the city “retaliated” by putting Sharpnack on “paid administrative leave pending an investigation.” The city said its investigation was complete Dec. 19, according to the suit.

“Thus, rather than being able to celebrate and enjoy the end of an exceptional 26-plus-year career with the city, the city improperly exiled Sharpnack,” the lawsuit states.

When asked in November what interference Sharpnack might be referring to, Foley responded, “I have no idea.”

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