Woods v. City of Englewood
Filed 2/28/06 Woods v. City of Englewood CA2/3
NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL REPORTS
California Rules of Court, rule 977(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or ordered published, except as specified by rule 977(b). This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 977.
IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA
SECOND APPELLATE DISTRICT
DIVISION THREE
| EDMUND WOODS, Plaintiff and Appellant, v. CITY OF INGLEWOOD et al., Defendants and Respondents. | B178409 (Los Angeles County Super. Ct. No. BS085322) |
APPEAL from a judgment of the Superior Court of Los Angeles County,
David P. Yaffe, Judge. Affirmed.
Rochelle Evans Jackson; and Melinda G. Wilson for Plaintiff and Appellant.
Kohrs & Fiske, Conrad Kohrs and Duncan McCreary for Defendants and Respondents.
_________________________
Plaintiff and appellant Edmund Woods (Woods), a former police officer for the City of Inglewood Police Department (Department), appeals a judgment denying his petition for writ of administrative mandate (Code Civ. Proc., § 1094.5) wherein he challenged the Department's decision terminating his employment. Defendants and respondents herein are the City of Inglewood (the City) and Mark F. Weinberg, City Administrator of the City (Administrator) (collectively referred to as the Department).
Woods contends the Administrator and thereafter the trial court improperly considered evidence outside the administrative record, the Administrator failed to review the transcript of the administrative hearing, and the penalty of termination is excessive.
We reject each of Woods's contentions and affirm the judgment.
FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND
1. Facts.
In 1977, Woods was hired by the Department as a police officer. In October 2001, he was promoted to sergeant and was serving a probationary period in that position.
a. The earlier charge of sexual harassment.
During Woods's probationary period as sergeant, a fellow sergeant, Gabriela Garcia (Garcia), accused Woods of sexual harassment.
The sexual harassment charge was sustained and resulted in a penalty of a 20-day suspension and an extension of Woods's probationary period as sergeant.
b. The instant incident.
On May 31, 2002, a shooting occurred at Dodger Stadium involving an off-duty Inglewood police officer, Will Salmon, Jr. On June 3, 2002, Woods heard a rumor that Garcia had been at the scene of the shooting. Instead of observing the chain of command by reporting this information to his superiors or to internal affairs, Woods relayed this information to Detective Enyart (Enyart), his former partner. Woods also told Enyart that Garcia may have removed bullet casings and that she fled the scene after having started the fight which led to the shooting incident.
Woods then launched his own personal investigation into the matter by requesting Enyart (who was not involved in the shooting investigation) to ask his contacts at the LAPD about the shooting investigation and about obtaining a videotape of the shooting incident. In addition, Woods checked the watch commander's log to see if Garcia's name appeared as part of the shooting incident, and checked the parking lot to see if Garcia's car was parked at the station.
On June 5, 2002, Internal Affairs Sergeant Steve Overly (Overly) interviewed Woods to determine whether the information about Garcia's involvement in the shooting incident was true or whether Woods was spreading false rumors about Garcia in retaliation for the charge of sexual harassment. Woods told Overly he had overheard Officer Maria Howe (Howe) telling someone at the station's front desk that Garcia may have started the fight at Dodger Stadium which precipitated the shooting, removed casings and fled the scene. Woods stated he was aware of the possible existence of a videotape of the incident because he had worked off duty at Dodger Stadium. Overly admonished Woods not to discuss the matter with anyone.
On June 6, 2002, Overly interviewed Howe. Howe told Overly that on June 3, 2002, Woods asked her whether there was any truth to the rumor about Garcia. Howe told Overly she told Woods the rumor was not true because Garcia was in Las Vegas during the incident. Howe also told Overly that Woods had informed her that he had mentioned her name during his interview with Overly.
After interviewing Howe, Overly again interviewed Woods. Woods admitted to Overly that Howe had informed him that Garcia was not involved in the shooting incident.
2. Administrative proceedings.
On August 22, 2002, the Department served Woods with a notice of intent to terminate. A pre-disciplinary Skelly hearing (Skelly v. State Personnel Bd. (1975) 15 Cal.3d 194) was conducted on September 10, 2002.
a. The Chief terminates Woods's employment.
On September 19, 2002, Chief Banks (the Chief) issued a notice of termination sustaining violations of General Orders Manual 14.1.1 and Procedure Manual section 100-00-00. The Chief determined termination was warranted based upon: Woods's actions in propagating rumors that Garcia was involved in serious misconduct; Woods's deliberate violation of a direct order not to discuss the investigation with any other employee; Woods's reporting the information he obtained about Garcia to Enyart, instead of to the Chief, to his superiors, or to internal affairs; and Woods's handling of information concerning Garcia's alleged involvement in the shooting incident in a manner which brought discredit to him as a supervisor and which exposed the Department to liability.
b. Grievance proceeds to arbitrator, who recommends reinstatement.
Woods filed a grievance to overturn the termination. The hearing officer was an â€
