Crime & Safety
LAPD Sergeant Seeks Overturning Of Misconduct Findings, Suspension
The veteran member of the department was handed a three-day suspension after officials alleged she kissed an employee while off duty.
LOS ANGELES — A veteran Los Angeles police sergeant has taken legal action against the city over her three-day suspension for alleged misconduct, including the off-duty kissing of a department employee in 2019.
Sgt. Darcy French's Los Angeles Superior Court petition asks a judge to overturn the Board of Rights' decision in June supporting allegations against the sergeant that were later signed off on by Chief Michel Moore, who also is named in the legal action.
A spokesman for the City Attorney's Office did not immediately reply to a request for comment on the petition brought Sept. 18.
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According to French's attorneys' court papers, the Board of Rights panel found French guilty in June of the kissing allegation as well as a second count maintaining that she made "several inappropriate comments towards department employees."
The events are alleged to have occurred in 2019, but no further details are given. The board also recommended a three-day suspension of French.
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"The decision of the Board of Rights ... including the suspension of (French) was not supported by the findings and/or evidence and the findings of misconduct were not supported by the weight of the evidence," the petition alleges.
The board also failed to recognize that the statute of limitations was violated when a supervisor aware of the alleged misconduct at the time of the acts in 2019 failed to initiate any investigative or disciplinary action, according to the petition.
Moore has "failed to perform his legal duty" under the city charter, causing a deprivation of French's right to due process, the petition further alleges.
French joined the Los Angeles Police Department in 1998. On Feb. 28, she filed a separate legal action against the city, alleging in a Los Angeles Superior Court lawsuit that she was the target of harassment because she complained that other LAPD members had disseminated sexist images.
She further maintains that her bosses tried to suspend and demote her after she came forward.
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