Bob Filner, the former mayor of San Diego, testified Wednesday in the first civil trial stemming from the sexual harassment scandal that put the life-long politician out of office.
Filner is accused of grabbing a city parks employee from behind and putting her in what was dubbed the "Filner headlock", a choke hold maneuver shown to jurors in court Tuesday.
The Deputy City Attorney defending Filner admits the former mayor's behavior was unprofessional but denies it was abusive.
City Parks Manager Stacie McKenzie testified that she's suffered depression and anxiety following the April 2013 incident.
On Tuesday, the plaintiff's attorney Manuel Corrales used a mannequin to describe what McKenzie said happened.
"He puts his right arm around her neck, and he puts his left hand on her arm, and he firmly holds her arm and her firmly holds her neck in a choke hold, and she doesn't know what's going on, but her friends are kind of wondering what is he doing," said Corrales.
Filner testified he didn’t recall meeting McKenzie, rubbing his body up against hers and holding her arm in a lock as was alleged by the plaintiff.
As for allegations that he followed McKenzie around the event, Filner said, “I have never stalked anyone."
If they did occur, Filner testified he didn’t feel most of those acts were sexual harassment.
In October 2013, Filner pleaded guilty to felony false imprisonment and two misdemeanor charges of battery involving victims of sexual harassment and completed 90 days of house arrest.
Filner said that day was “the saddest day in my life.”
“The whole experience was incredibly devastating,” the former mayor said. “I did not think I was guilty of many of the accusations. but it became because of the extent and I think the actions of people who opposed what I was trying to do as mayor it all came together and made it impossible for me to govern. It was a very tragic thing in my experience because I was really trying to change this city.”
He said he has undergone “very intense therapy” to understand what happened.
“I think I have come out a better and stronger person even though I don’t have the mayor’s job,"
Filner said.
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Taxpayers have paid more than a $1 million to settle cases in the scandal according to the City Attorney's office.
Since this is a highly publicized case, jurors have been instructed by the judge to avoid watching news coverage of the scandal as to not affect their objectivity.
Filner resigned from the mayoral office in 2013 after multiple women accused him of unwanted advances and touching.
One of those women, Irene McCormack Jackson testified Wednesday that Filner told her he was infatuated with her and that it would be wonderful if she worked without panties.
She also testified that he kissed her in an elevator.
She recalled Filner's reaction when she told him to leave her office.
“I’m the mayor. I can go wherever I want, whenever I want. I don’t have to leave,” McCormack testified.
McCormack Jackson also talked about the day she resigned in solidarity with another city employee.
It was at a senior staff meeting, and she told Filner the officer was run horribly and she was resigning too.
As she left the room, she testified, Filner said to her "‘Really Irene? Name one.’"
McCormack Jackson testified, “As I was walking toward the door, I turned around and I said, ‘Really Mayor? Why don’t you tell them about the time you told me to work without my panties on?’ And I opened the door and I slammed it shut so hard that it opened once and slammed again.”
The former communications director for Filner reached a $250,000 settlement after she sued the City of San Diego.
