By Teri Figueroa and Walker Armstrong
The San Diego Union-Tribune
CHULA VISTA, Calif. — After months of turmoil and accusations of a plot to oust her, Chula Vista’s police chief sued the city and four councilmembers Tuesday, alleging defamation, invasion of privacy and harassment.
The legal action filed in San Diego Superior Court comes several weeks after Chief Roxana Kennedy filed claims with the city — generally seen as a precursor to a lawsuit — alleging that the city manager used an incident outside of work as a pretext to reprimand Kennedy and launched a retaliatory investigation.
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The defendants are the city of Chula Vista, City Manager Tiffany Allen and councilmembers Michael Inzunza, Cesar Fernandez, Carolina Chavez and Jose Preciado.
Inzunza and Preciado declined to comment Wednesday, and the remaining two council members did not respond to a request for comment.
In a statement on behalf of the city of Chula Vista and Allen, the city said it “categorically denies the allegations and will vigorously defend against them in court. The City is confident the truth will show that no wrongdoing occurred.”
The city has strongly denied the allegations since they first surfaced earlier this year and said an alleged conspiracy to oust her was “entirely false.
The suit does not name Mayor John McCann, and Kennedy’s attorney said he has no reason to believe the mayor was involved in any of the alleged actions. McCann’s office declined to comment on the suit and the months-long tensions between the city and its police chief.
Kennedy, 65, has been with the department for 33 years. She has led it since 2016 and is the longest-serving police chief in the region. The lawsuit alleges a council member was “secretly vetting a younger Latino law-enforcement official in a nearby jurisdiction” to replace her. The suit does not identify the council member.
The chief has been out on medical leave since late January, shortly before news of tensions between the chief and the city broke. Kennedy’s attorney, Cory Briggs, said Wednesday his client is still getting a paycheck, but — as the lawsuit alleges — she has been locked out of her email, personnel information and wage statement.
“She loves the community she serves, and she is disappointed that the city’s leadership has treated her with disrespect and contempt,” Briggs said Wednesday.
Kennedy filed two claims against the city in March, and Briggs said Wednesday that the city did not respond to the claims. The city said it did not vote to approve the claims and that the claims have been denied by operation of law.
The suit alleges violations of the state’s Fair Employment and Housing Act and other laws. It alleges that tactics against Kennedy included making her job “miserable by fabricating allegations of wrongdoing” and launching a “retaliatory investigation.”
According to the suit, Kennedy’s working conditions were “so miserable that a reasonable person would deem the environment too hostile, oppressive, and toxic to remain.”
Kennedy’s attorney alleges an incident at a police union holiday party last December was used as a pretext to take action against her. According to Briggs, after an officer took off his shirt in a faux striptease during a dance-off for a raffle prize, Kennedy put dollar bills in the officer’s pockets then took a bow — which Briggs said elicited cheers.
More than five weeks later, the suit states, the city manager reprimanded Kennedy. The suit alleges that around the same time, the city manager disclosed confidential information about her to a person outside the city.
In recent weeks, several pastors, community members and officials have spoken in support of Kennedy at City Council meetings, including District Attorney Summer Stephan and former San Diego U.S. Attorney Robert Brewer.
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