It has been said that perseverance is not a long race; it is many short races one after another.  Never has this been more true than in the matter of Officer John Brumbaugh.  Officer Brumbaugh had been a stand-out officer throughout his career with the Torrance Police Department.  A Gulf war veteran and Marine Corps sniper, Officer Brumbaugh began working for the City of Torrance in 1994.  With his work ethic, enthusiasm, and dedication to his job, advancement and promotion were not far ahead. 

All of this came to a screeching halt in 1998, when Brumbaugh and his girlfriend had an argument.  Brumbaugh contacted the police and informed them that his girlfriend, who at the time had an extensive history of violence, had assaulted him by slapping him in the head several times.  The girlfriend countered, alleging that Brumbaugh had assaulted her.  An examination of the two revealed red marks on Brumbaugh's head, and no injuries to the girlfriend.  Neither was taken in and Brumbaugh was allowed to leave.

However, days later, the girlfriend met with the detective assigned to the case and pointed out numerous bruises she now said were caused by Brumbaugh during the alleged assault.  Based on this, the detective interviewed several friends of the girlfriend.  These individuals advised the detective that the girlfriend had told them that she was assaulted by Brumbaugh.  Using this as corroborating evidence, Brumbaugh was arrested.  In August 1998, Brumbaugh was convicted of spousal battery and dissuading a witness based solely on the word of his girlfriend and these corroborating witnesses. 

In November 1998, Torrance fired Brumbaugh based solely upon the conviction.  In its termination, the city did not prove up the charges, but rather simply relied upon the conviction as the basis for termination.  At the termination appeal hearing, Brumbaugh specifically maintained his innocence.  He told the civil service commission and the city attorney that he would be appealing his conviction and that the city should stay its discharge proceeding, pending resolution of the appeal.  Brumbaugh even offered to waive back pay during that time.  However, Torrance decided to go forward with the discharge.  However, the city attorney informed Brumbaugh that if he were successful with his appeal, he could return and ask for reconsideration. 

Throughout his criminal appeal, Brumbaugh represented himself, drafting each of his own appeal briefs.  After navigating his way through the legal system, on March 1, 2005, the federal District Court issued a writ of habeas corpus as to the conviction on all counts, giving the prosecution an opportunity to retry the case.  The federal court issued the writ because the trial court violated Brumbaugh's constitutional rights by improperly shifting the burden of proof. 

Brumbaugh also had extensive evidence of his innocence, including numerous declarations by former boyfriends, husbands, and close friends of his former girlfriend stating essentially that she is a violent person, has assaulted prior individuals, and is a compulsive liar.  Brumbaugh obtained expert evidence that the bruises his girlfriend had could not have been caused as she had alleged, since the injuries were too old.  To top it off, his girlfriend had written him a letter after the district attorney had decided to prosecute, acknowledging that she had lied to the detective about the assault because she was mad at him.  Thus, after seven years, Brumbaugh was successful in clearing his name, at least temporarily.  It was not until May 2005, that the District Attorney determined it would not retry the case, citing lack of evidence and problems with proof.  Despite having spent eight months in jail, nearly being bankrupted by the litigation costs, loosing his job and career, and having his reputation irreparably destroyed, Brumbaugh was thankful that a court of law had finally given him justice. 

Having cleared his name and bringing closure to that chapter of his life, Brumbaugh contacted Lackie & Dammeier in June 2005, hoping to get his job back.  Brumbaugh's position was straightforward: since he was terminated based solely upon the conviction, which had now been overturned, there was no lawful basis to uphold the termination.  Lackie & Dammeier wrote to the city asking for reconsideration of their decision as they had told Brumbaugh to do.  However, the city refused to reconsider or entertain Brumbaugh's return to work.  The city refused to honor its prior claim that Brumbaugh could seek reconsideration if his appeal was overturned.  Consequently, Brumbaugh was forced to seek relief through the courts.

Lackie & Dammeier immediately filed a petition for writ of mandate arguing that because Brumbaugh maintained a constitutional property right in continued employment prior to discharge, which could only be affected by just cause, having his criminal conviction overturned "revived" that constitutional right.  Since the sole basis for his discharge was no longer viable, the discharge could not be sustained.  The city fought Brumbaugh's writ viciously, engaging in protracted discovery.    

Despite the city's efforts, in June 2007, the superior court granted Officer Brumbaugh's petition for writ of mandate, clearing the way for his return to full duty nearly a decade after his discharge.  The superior court agreed with Officer Brumbaugh that his constitutional property right in his job was "revived," and that pending a background investigation, he should be returned to full duty.  In addition, Officer Brumbaugh has been awarded back pay retroactive to June 2005, when his conviction was overturned.  Officer Brumbaugh is currently in the background process, and expects to return to full duty soon.  He is ecstatic about the court's ruling, and is truly a model of perseverance.  He looks forward to returning to the Torrance Police Department, becoming a productive officer, and regaining the trust and respect of his fellow officers, as well as his employer.  He is also happy to turn the page of what have been very difficult times, and would like to thank the Legal Defense Fund, the Torrance Police Officers Association and his attorneys for his victory.