A judge has granted permission for the trial of a whistleblower lawsuit brought by Sergeant Timothy Colomey, a longtime Los Angeles police officer who alleges that the department’s SWAT unit is controlled by a group of veteran officers known as the “SWAT Mafia.”
Sgt. Colomey claims in his complaint filed in Los Angeles Superior Court that certain leaders in the SWAT unit favored candidates who were inclined towards using force rather than critical thinking. Colomey, who joined SWAT in 2008 and was the unit’s most senior sergeant at the time, alleges that the selection process for the unit was biased.
Despite the City Attorney’s Office filing a motion to dismiss the case, Judge Jon Takasugi denied the motion, stating that Colomey presented evidence supporting his belief that he disclosed violations of the law as defined by the Labor Code. The trial has been scheduled for September 25th.
In a sworn declaration, Colomey states that as the supervisor of the LAPD SWAT training school from 2013 to 2019, he witnessed how candidates were chosen and how the school was operated.
According to Colomey, those in charge of candidate selection emphasized a preference for officers inclined towards using force rather than those who were critical thinkers. He alleges that officers who questioned the aggressive and quick-shooting culture of the unit were disqualified.
An investigation was initiated by the LAPD’s Internal Affairs group in September 2018 following an anonymous complaint comparing SWAT’s culture to the Rampart scandal of the late 1990s. Colomey informed the interviewer about a group of influential officers within SWAT who promoted a conformist culture that encouraged the use of lethal force.
Colomey claims that he heard these officers refer to themselves as the “SWAT Mafia” and experienced instances where they attempted to exclude him from certain situations. He was ultimately cleared of any wrongdoing during the Internal Affairs probe.
Colomey, who joined the LAPD in 1995 and served in SWAT as a sergeant until 2019, alleges that SWAT lieutenants and sergeants are aware of the SWAT Mafia’s existence and influence. The lawsuit, filed in January 2021, claims that supervisors both comply with and undermine nonconforming officers and supervisors who do not align with the group.
Colomey has since left SWAT and now works at Los Angeles International Airport.
Denial of responsibility! VigourTimes is an automatic aggregator of Global media. In each content, the hyperlink to the primary source is specified. All trademarks belong to their rightful owners, and all materials to their authors. For any complaint, please reach us at – [email protected]. We will take necessary action within 24 hours.
