Los Angeles County Police Officer, Anthony Rodriguez had imposed against him, by his Department, a five (5) day suspension without pay as a result of a June 29, 2006, incident and subsequent internal affairs investigation.  That investigation of Rodriguez resulted in sustained charges that Officer Rodriguez, in the performance of duties, failed to perform to standards of the Department and was rude an discourteous, while on duty, to a spouse of a Department Lieutenant.  .

            At the time of the alleged incident Rodriguez was one of several officers assigned to patrol a juvenile facility within one of the Department's various Bureaus.  According to the Lieutenant's spouse, she was walking with her children in the vicinity of the juvenile facility when she was approached by an unknown Los Angeles County Police Officer.  She alleged that the Officer stated to her, "Isn't it kind of dark out here?  There are some weird people, freaks, walking about."  According to the Lieutenant's spouse, she then replied to the unknown Officer, "Thank God I haven't come across any of them."  To which the unknown Officer allegedly stated, "I'm looking at one right now."  The contact with the Officer then ended.  Soon thereafter she reported the incident to her husband (a Lieutenant with the County Police), who through his chain of command initiated an investigation. 

            The Department's resulting investigation included the Department putting together a "six pack" of officers who were working on June 29, 2007, in the assignment in question, and showed it to the Lieutenant's spouse, who failed to identify the officer who allegedly made the statement to her.  In addition, the Department, without advising involved officers that they were under investigation, went to each officer believed to have been working the juvenile facility assignment, to include Officer Rodriguez, and requested that they make the statements the Lieutenant's wife alleged were made to her, by the Officer, onto to a tape recorder.  The Officers complied, and the recordings were played for the Lieutenant's spouse, but she was unable to identify the voice of the alleged Officer. 

On September 18, 2006, almost three months after the alleged incident, the Lieutenant and his spouse were walking in the area of the juvenile facility when Officer Rodriguez, who intended to follow-up with the Lieutenant about a call Officer Rodriguez had been assigned, contacted them.  After hearing Officer Rodriguez' voice, the spouse alleged that Officer Rodriguez was the Officer who had made the alleged "rude and discourteous" statement to her.  With that "voice" identification almost three months after the incident, and despite her initial failure to identify Officer Rodriguez' voice from the recording obtained and played for her, the Department sustained the charges against Officer Rodriguez and imposed a suspension of five (5) days without pay against him.  Officer Rodriguez, when interrogated by the Department, denied making the alleged "rude and discourteous" statement.     

            Officer Rodriguez requested a post-suspension evidentiary hearing before the Los Angeles County Employee Relations Commission, who assigns a neutral Arbitrator to hear such appeals.  With the hearing date fast approaching, and witnesses being subpoenaed, extensive settlement discussions ensued up to the first day of hearing.  Officer Rodriguez remained steadfast in his refusal to accept a reduced penalty because he was not the "unknown" Officer and did not make the alleged statements. 

The result of that steadfast determination and refusal to accept discipline for something he did not do and extensive discussions with the Department regarding the weaknesses in their case was the withdrawal of the five (5) day suspension, by the Department, the elimination of the suspension from Rodriguez' record, and the reimbursement of his wages.  The Department's alleged basis for the complete withdrawal of the discipline was "witness unavailability".  Rodriguez was represented throughout this process by attorneys from Lackie & Dammeier and would like to thank LDF for their steadfast support in this case .