Associated Press
LOS ANGELES - A jury ruled in favor of the Police Department on Friday in a suit filed by a former police lieutenant who claimed she was demoted after reporting misconduct by the department’s chief.
Kathleen Ann Sheehan filed suit last year in Superior Court, claiming that police officials retaliated against her for reporting alleged misconduct by then-Chief Willie Williams in 1997. Williams is now chief of security at Hartsfield Atlanta International Airport.
The alleged misconduct includes mismanagement of funds, extortive conduct and abuse of power.
“We’re pleased with the verdict,” said Eric Moses, an aide to City Attorney Rocky Delgadillo. “It was a complex case, and we’re happy that the jury was able to sort through the issues and evidence.”
Messages left at a public relations firm representing Sheehan were not immediately returned Friday night.
Sheehan, a 22-year LAPD veteran who was Williams’ former executive officer, said that when she confronted her former boss with the allegations, he told her to mind her own business.
The lawsuit, which also named former Chief Bernard Parks as a plaintiff, did not specify monetary damages.
Sheehan, 43, also was a designated expert for the Christopher Commission, which investigated the department after the Rodney King beating in 1991, according to the lawsuit.