The Redondo Beach Police Department’s first Black K-9 handler officer, who filed a lawsuit against the city alleging wrongful removal from patrol after becoming pregnant in 2021, is being urged by the city’s attorneys to undergo a mental examination due to her claims of emotional distress, according to new court documents.
Officer Daryn Glenn’s lawsuit, filed in Los Angeles Superior Court, accuses the city of gender and pregnancy discrimination, harassment, retaliation, and failure to prevent harassment and discrimination. However, she is not making a claim of race discrimination.
In her lawsuit, Glenn seeks $2 million for pain, suffering, and emotional distress damages, making her mental health a significant aspect of the case. The city’s lawyers argue that a mental examination conducted by an independent third-party expert, psychologist Paula Bruce of Beverly Hills, is necessary to ascertain the extent to which her condition is related to her allegations in the lawsuit. The city’s lawyers filed court papers on Monday, seeking to compel the psychological evaluation, with a hearing scheduled for November 9.
Alternatively, the city’s attorneys propose that the judge issue an order prohibiting Glenn’s lawyers from presenting any mental health experts to testify about her alleged emotional distress during the trial, set for March 25.
In previous court documents, the city’s lawyers dismissed Glenn’s allegations as “frivolous” and argued for the dismissal of her lawsuit.
Glenn, 29, was hired in 2017 and became the city’s first Black K-9 handler in 2021, according to the lawsuit. She became pregnant in October of the same year and claims that her supervisors immediately removed her from patrol duty after being informed. The suit alleges that a supervisor, Lt. Cory King, cited department policy mandating the removal of pregnant female officers from patrol for safety reasons. Another reason given was the alleged lack of maternity uniforms for pregnant officers within the department.
Glenn was reassigned to dispatch and remained in that position until going on maternity leave in June. In November, when she reported the alleged discrimination based on her sex, gender, and pregnancy to the union president, she claims he responded with a threatening comment. The suit alleges that the union president said, “If you want to stay in the canine unit, I can push you down the stairs or kick you in the stomach.” Glenn reported this comment to Lt. Cory King, who allegedly did not investigate and instructed her to ignore it.
The lawsuit also states that the RBPD took away Glenn’s patrol vehicle, prohibited her from attending K-9 training, and ordered her to surrender her dog for sale in January 2022. In contrast, the suit points out that a disabled male officer was permitted to continue working patrol and attending K-9 training with his dog, without being reassigned for safety reasons or having his animal taken away.
Due to the alleged discrimination and mistreatment, Glenn’s career has suffered, resulting in lost overtime and promotional opportunities. Furthermore, the stress caused by these incidents has impacted her health, according to the lawsuit.
Denial of responsibility! Vigour Times 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.
