Officer claims unfair demotion, retaliation

A Newport Beach police officer claims his reputation as a whistleblower led to retaliation and a demotion for actions that pale in comparison to what other department employees have done in recent years.

John Hougan, a sergeant until his July demotion to officer, filed a claim against the city Monday seeking unspecified damages. He argues that Newport Beach violated his rights to free speech and petition.

Hougan claims he was retaliated against for pointing out decisions by former police chiefs Bob McDonnell and John Klein and former City Manager Homer Bludau that went uninvestigated.

The city’s position is that he was demoted for having inappropriate content on his work computer. It was unclear Wednesday the type of content found on his terminal.

City Atty. David Hunt did not return a call for comment.

Hougan barely addresses the issues with his computer in the claim but argues that he and other members of the department had unanswered complaints concerning alleged misconduct and broken laws by coworkers.

Many of the issues Hougan raises have been addressed, including what some called the improper recruitment of Klein and the hiring of retired officers back into the department without required City Council approval.

In 2008, Hougan was one of several officers who testified in a civil suit between then-Sgt. Neil Harvey and the city.

Harvey claimed that Klein failed to promote him because of false rumors he was gay and argued there was a culture of retaliation within the department.

Hougan was one of only a few officers who, according to juror interviews afterward, appeared truthful on the stand.

Hougan testified that there was an in-crowd and out-crowd in the department and acknowledged that the case was going to change relationships among officers.

Harvey ultimately won his suit, was paid more than $1 million and promoted before retiring in March.

In his claim filed Monday, Hougan says that’s exactly what happened. He said after his testimony, and after filing complaints about other misconduct, he was targeted by his fellow officers. In one instance, someone left a picture of a bomb taped on his workspace and stole things from his desk.

“Other officials have committed far worse acts than those alleged to have been committed by Hougan, but have sustained far less or even no discipline,” the claim reads.

One example in the claim involves retired-Capt. Jim Kaminsky. Kaminsky was fined by the state’s Fair Political Practices Commission in September for not reporting gifts he received from the Island Hotel in Newport Beach.

City officials let Kaminsky retire and save face instead of being investigated and fingering misconduct by others too, Hougan argues.

Hougan is the third officer this year to file a claim against the city and its police department that alleges retaliation. Retired Lts. Steve Shulman and Craig Frizzell filed claims in September.