Lawsuit alleges retaliatory firing
EL CENTRO – The former Imperial County Narcotics Task Force commander has alleged in a lawsuit that in May 2019 he was fired in retaliation for reporting harassment of a female assistant by a male member of the task force’s executive board.
Former commander Mike Loyd has also alleged the ICNTF executive board voted to fire him during a closed session hearing that was convened in violation of open meeting laws governing public bodies.
In his civil lawsuit filed with the county Superior Court initially in May, Loyd names as defendants ICNTF, the county of Imperial, the cities of El Centro, Imperial and Westmorland, the California Highway Patrol, as well as Strategic Contracting Services (SCS), a third party contracted by the county to perform employment services on behalf of the task force.
When reached for comment on Friday, Loyd expressed disappointment with the outcome of his 18-year stint with the task force, whose operations he was proud to say hadn’t ever elicited any complaints from the citizenry during his time at the helm.
“All you can do is fight for what you think is right and let the chips fall where they may,” Loyd said, referring to the lawsuit.
An amended complaint filed Aug. 14, states three causes of
actions. The first of those is lodged against ICNTF, the county and SCS, and alleges that Loyd’s firing was a retaliatory act in direct violation of the Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA), which prohibits an employee’s termination for reporting gender discrimination or harassment.
The second cause of action is directed at all defendants, and also alleges Loyd’s retaliatory firing violated FEHA, which requires employers to take reasonable steps to prevent discrimination or harassment from occurring at the worksite.
Lastly, all of the defendants are accused of violating state labor code, which makes it illegal to retaliate against employees who report to government or law enforcement agencies a possible violation of a state, federal or local rule, or for refusing to participate in such a violation.
According to the suit, on Dec. 14, 2018, a staff assistant employed by
the El Centro Police Department and assigned to ICNTF came to Loyd “in tears” alleging she was the victim of a “hostile work incident” committed by El Centro CHP Capt. Arturo Proctor.
Following the disclosure, and in accordance with his assigned duties to report serious personnel issues, Loyd reportedly briefed his supervisor, county District Attorney Gilbert Otero, who serves as the ICNTF executive board chair.
Later that month, the staff assistant filed a formal complaint with ECPD, which did not follow up for more than three months, the complaint alleged.
The staff assistant, who was assigned to keep minutes of the executive board’s monthly meetings, continued with her duties without incident between January and March, when Proctor was reportedly out of the state for training.
Upon Proctor’s return for the April 2019 meeting, the staff assistant reportedly approached
Loyd to advise him that she was “very concerned” about Proctor’s presence and “fearful” of being in the same room as him.
A backup clerical assistant who is responsible for taking minutes of board meetings when the staff assistant is unavailable also reportedly told Loyd that she didn’t want to be anywhere near Proctor as well. Both were given permission by Loyd not to attend the meeting.
“Loyd believed that the hostile work environment was because of the staff assistant and clerical assistant’s gender,” the complaint stated.
Following the April 2019 meeting, Loyd met with Otero to advise him of the situation. Otero is reported to have agreed that the situation could not continue and advised Loyd to report the alleged incident to Proctor’s supervisor, which Loyd did.
Loyd is then said to have met sometime afterward with an unnamed CHP assistant chief who reportedly told Loyd that they were unaware of the complaint against Proctor but would remove him as the agency’s representative on the ICNTF executive board.
Loyd immediately advised Otero of the
CHP chief’s decision to remove Proctor from the board, a proposed outcome that Otero is alleged to have called a “satisfactory solution,” the suit stated.
On May 8, 2019, Proctor attended the ICNTF board’s monthly meeting and allegedly announced that something happened to him that could happen to any other board member.
He is further alleged to have requested to convene the board in closed session, in Loyd’s absence, though the meeting’s agenda hadn’t previously announced the inclusion of a closed session. The closed session meeting, according to the complaint, constituted a “secret meeting” in violation of the Brown Act.
During the closed session meeting, Proctor is alleged to have told the other board members that Loyd “had gone over his head” to complain, and that if Loyd did it to him, he “could also get other board members in trouble by reporting on them to their superiors,” the lawsuit stated.
After emerging from closed session, Loyd was allegedly told by Otero and board member and Imperial police Chief Leonard Barra that he was being fired for insubordination for having reported the hostile work environment, the complaint stated.
During that reported conversation, Otero is alleged to have told Loyd that if called to testify, Otero would “absolutely tell the truth as to what happened,” the complaint stated.
On May 10, 2019, Barra is alleged to have contacted Loyd to advise him that his designation as a commander with the Imperial Police Department was being eliminated, an act that is characterized in the complaint as retaliation for Loyd having reported the alleged hostile work environment.
Loyd’s last day at the task force’s offices in the Imperial Valley Law Enforcement Coordination Center in Imperial was May 28, 2019. He reportedly filed a government complaint on July 31 of that year and was denied the following November.
The task force’s executive board is comprised of the department heads of the task force’s participating law enforcement agencies, which besides those employed by the cities listed as defendants in the lawsuit, include the Brawley and Calipatria police departments, county Probation Department and Sheriff’s Office.
Representatives of the Border Patrol, Immigration and Customs Enforcement and its Homeland Security Investigations, and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives also serve on the executive board, the lawsuit stated.
Not all of the task force’s member agencies were sued because of the minimal role they played in directing Loyd’s duties as commander.
The initial complaint filed in May had three additional causes of actions against some or all of the defendants.
Subsequent objections of the cities of Imperial and El Centro to the counts were partially sustained by local Judge L. Brooks Anderholt during an Aug. 4 hearing.
As part of his lawsuit, Loyd is seeking back wages and compensation for distress stemming from the alleged damage to his personal and professional reputation.
Parties are due back in court Nov. 3 for a case management conference. No trial date has been set in the matter, according to court records.