Eleven police officers with the San Diego Unified School District have filed a lawsuit against Chief of Police Alfonso Contreras, the SDUSD police department; and the school district’s superintendent for retaliation claims, negligence, discrimination and sexual assault.
The lawsuit has led to division in SDUSD's police department.
A police sergeant's perspective
Sgt. Jesus Montana hasn’t been able to work for one year. He said he’s on paid administrative leave because his chief has been targeting him.
Get top local stories in San Diego delivered to you every morning. Sign up for NBC San Diego's News Headlines newsletter.
“I've been in law enforcement for over 26 years, and I've never seen anything like this,” he said. “The moment that the chief heard that I was cleared to come back as the vacant administrative sergeant — he eliminated the position, preventing me from coming back.”
Montana said the unfair treatment began last June when Alfonso Contreras became chief and “The Club” formed. He said The Club consists of five or six officers including Chief Contreras and his girlfriend, Sgt. Jenifer Gruner.
The lawsuit claims Chief Contreras used his position to give his girlfriend special privileges including:
- not having to clock in and out of her shifts
- attending a Notre Dame football game with Chief Contreras while they were on the clock and getting paid while Sgt. Gruner went to a nail salon
In the lawsuit, Montana and 10 other colleagues claim The Club targets other officers who “refuse to blindly follow The Club’s corrupt leadership.”
Local
An attorney's perspective
Lead attorney John Gomez said the retaliation has put the greater public at risk.
He mentioned that one time, officers were assigned to cover a football game when a fight broke out, leaving one girl unconscious. Officers not in The Club radioed in for help, while about 50 people gathered around and tried to stop them from helping the girl.
Gomez said all of this happened while an officer in The Club watched it.
“A captain of the agency and a member of The Club was only 630 feet away,” he said. “But, this captain and member of The Club ignored this officer's request for immediate assistance.”
He also said this behavior rubs salt on an already wounded industry.
“We're losing officers like crazy,” Gomez said. “Officer morale is in shambles.”
Once SDUSD receives the lawsuit, the district has 30 days to respond.
When NBC 7 reached out to the district for a statement response in August, a spokeswoman said it does not discuss pending litigation and all allegations received by the district are taken seriously. NBC 7 has yet to hear back for a response to the new allegations.
