Tape reveals plaintiff lied about work
Darleene Barrientos
In a tape played to the jury in the Glendale Police sexual-harassment
trial, one of the plaintiffs in the case admitted lying about her
whereabouts to dispatch and to socializing with fellow officers when
she was supposed to be working.
“Having this much time to look back, I think I was an idiot,” said
Renae Kerner, one of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit, in the 2001 taped
interview with Lt. Jonathon Perkins. The interview was part of the
Police Department’s investigation into reports of officers sleeping
while on duty.
Kerner is one of three Glendale Police officers suing the city,
alleging they were victims of harassment, unwanted sexual advances
and retaliation when they complained.
Lawyers for the plaintiffs and the defense bickered over whether
Perkins could read from a summary or a transcript of the interview
during cross-examination by city lawyer Irma Rodriguez Moisa. Judge
David A. Warner allowed Perkins to read from a summary, but also
ruled the taped interview should be played in the presence of the
jury.
The department’s “Napster” investigation was conducted in 2001
after police supervisors received reports of officers napping,
socializing or leaving their assigned districts while on duty.
Kerner reportedly was seen going outside of her assigned area to
sit in a secluded location behind a flower shop. Kerner said on the
tape that although she had told superiors she was parked behind the
flower shop to write reports, she was actually “hanging out” with
fellow officers.
“I know now [that] being out of my district was completely
irresponsible,” Kerner said on the tape.
Re-examining Perkins, plaintiffs’ lawyer Brad Gage waded through
departmental reports detailing Kerner’s activities while on duty in
2001, in an effort to prove her location did not affect her response
times.
Warner protested Gage’s re-examination, expressing concern over
what he was trying to prove.
“The reason why this trial is so bogged down is because of the
slow process of your examination,” Warner said.
Warner warned both the plaintiffs and the defense that he wanted
the trial finished by April 1.
Moisa proposed a time limit for Gage to present his case,
requiring he be done by March 20. Gage has yet to call any of the
plaintiffs to the stand.
“It’s unrealistic,” Gage said of the proposed time limit. “Counsel
[the defense] is making objections so frequently. It’s part of their
desire to delay the case, so the plaintiffs can’t present all the
evidence.”