Latino Cops, MALDEF Sue California Police Department
Published March 03, 2011





Several Hispanic police officers are jointly suing the police department in Westminster, California, for discrimination and violating their labor rights.
Via the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, three policemen are contending that they were denied promotions and access to special assignments because they are Latino.
"We want the police department's manner of promotion to change, we want promotions to be given to people who deserve them and for there to be no discrimination," the plaintiffs' attorney, MALDEF national senior counsel Victor Viramontes, told Efe.

Viramontes said that the lawsuit, although it was presented in federal court in Los Angeles, is directed against the police department in Westminster, a town in neighboring Orange County.
Jose Flores has been a police officer for 18 years, 10 of them with the Westminster force. Among the numerous awards and distinctions that he has received is an award from the Mothers Against Drunk Driving organization.
"Since 2005, I've aspired four times for promotions but each time they were given to other people," Flores told Efe.

"When I asked why and what criteria were used to give (the promotion) to others, they didn't want to answer me," said the officer, adding that on one of those occasions, the promotion was given to a white officer "who I had trained and who had only one year of experience."
Another of the plaintiffs, Brian Pérez, is also a major in the U.S. Marine Corps, while the third, Ryan Reyes, was the Westminster Police Department's rookie of the year in 1999.

"More than one in every five residents of Westminster is Latino," MALDEF President Thomas A. Sáenz said at Wednesday's press conference. "It's particularly troubling when the discriminator is a police department, a department that has a sacred public trust to serve the entire community and to enforce the laws."
The lawsuit also asks for monetary compensation for the Hispanic officers who were denied promotions as well as the possibility of special damages, the amount of which will be determined during the trial.
By means of the lawsuit, MALDEF is seeking to force the Westminster Police Department, "a public institution that must protect and serve the entire diverse community well," to institute fairer promotion practices and policies. According to Viramontes, about 10 percent of the Westminster police officers are Hispanic.

"Through individual accountability, excellent teamwork and commitment to quality service, the men and women of the Westminster Police Department work with our diverse community to make the City of Westminster a safer place," the WPD says in its mission statement.

The complaint is also directed against the Westminster city government and two former police chiefs.

"I was qualified for all those positions (for which I applied), but they were given to Anglos who were less qualified than me," Flores said.


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