Openly Gay LAPD Officer Wins $1.1M Lawsuit

Sgt. Ronald Crump

An openly gay police officer named Ronald Crump who literally appeared on a poster to recruit people to the Los Angeles Police Department has won a million-dollar judgement against the City of Los Angeles for anti-gay job discrimination and retaliation.

Karen Ocamb of LGBT POV has been covering the story diligently:

Openly gay Sergeant Ronald Crump is suing the city of LA claiming that his boss in Media Relations, Lt. John Romero, created a hostile work environment for gay and lesbian officers. His civil suit outlines a series of incidents over six months in which Crump claims he was harassed and humiliated. For instance, Crump claims that Romero said: “I was a religion major at Liberty University – Jerry Falwell would roll over in his grave if he knew I hired you.” The suit notes that Fawell founded the conservative religious university – but doesn’t mention that Falwell’s Moral Majority helped launch the antigay movement in 1977 with Anita Bryant.

Crump claims that Romero subjected him to “nearly constant harassment on account of his sexual orientation, including introducing Crump to new co-workers as “the new Ruby [Crump’s predecessor] – the only difference is that he doesn’t wear heels.” When Crump told Romero that he didn’t appreciate being referred to as the “new Ruby,” he says Romero told him to “’get over it’ and chuckled as he walked away.”

The lawsuit also details comments Romero allegedly made about other LAPD employees, calling one a “quirky, effeminate guy;” and of another, “She’s a militant, don’t ask/don’t tell activist lesbian,” among other similar comments.

The lawsuit also reports how in January 2009, a lesbian co-worker “remarked that Lt. Romero made the office environment stressful and that she saw Romero treating Plaintiff and others poorly.”  That lesbian left the Media Relations Department one month later, which was closely followed by an inquiry into the concerns about the hostile work environment from then-Assistant Chief Jim McDonnell’s office. Before he left the LAPD, McDonnell had an extraordinarily good relationship with the LGBT community.

And people think this blatant discrimination won't happen in California just because we have strong laws against it? It's up to the justice system to enforce the laws on the books.

Here's a local media report on the Crump verdict:

Los Angeles - A Los Angeles police sergeant who claimed he was the victim of retaliation for being gay was awarded $1.16 million by a jury today. 

A Los Angeles Superior Court jury deliberated for part of Wednesday afternoon and most of today before finding in favor of Sgt. Ronald Crump. 

"This was not a case about Ronald Crump being gay, but about the department's retaliation against him," attorney Gregory Smith said on behalf of Crump. 

Smith said his client's involuntary transfer from the Los Angeles Police Department's Media Relations Section in 2009 after complaining about his treatment from his boss at the time, Lt. John Romero, left the sergeant without a chance for significant promotions and pay increases. 

"He's not going anywhere in this department," Smith said during closing arguments Wednesday. "He is finished forever. They have completely destroyed his career for any advancement or promotion." 

Deputy City Attorney Daniel Aguilera declined to comment on the verdict. However, his colleague, Deputy City Attorney Shaun Dabby Jacobs, told jurors that Crump did not lose rank or pay with his changes of position and earns about $110,000 annually. She also said that months passed after he began the media relations assignment before he complained about alleged mistreatment.

I wonder what City Attorney Carmen Trutanich and LAPD Chief Charlie Beck will say about the Crump case the next time they address a large openly LGBT audience during one of their regular community forums?