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News Oct 19, 2023
| Photo courtesy of Redondo Beach Police Department
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The city of Redondo Beach has reached an agreement with the Police Department’s first Black K-9 handler officer, who sued the city alleging she was wrongfully removed from patrol after getting pregnant in 2021, to drop its effort to have her undergo an independent mental examination.
Officer Daryn Glenn’s Los Angeles Superior Court lawsuit alleges gender and pregnancy discrimination, harassment, retaliation and failure to prevent harassment and discrimination. She is not suing for race discrimination.
In their earlier court papers, attorneys for the city noted that Glenn has made her mental health an issue in the case to the extent that she seeks $2 million for her pain and suffering and emotional distress damages. The city lawyers wanted a judge to order Glenn to undergo a mental examination by an independent third-party expert to help determine to what extent her condition stems from her lawsuit allegations.
However, the attorneys filed joint papers with Judge Malcolm Mackey on Tuesday stating that Glenn is not making a claim for mental and emotional distress “over and above that usually associated with the physical injuries claimed” and that she is not offering expert testimony during the trial in support of the officer’s emotional distress damages.
The city’s attorneys had proposed that the examination take place Nov. 20 with Beverly Hills psychologist Paula Bruce, but now the scheduled Nov. 9 hearing on the issue has been canceled.
In earlier court papers, the city’s lawyers called Glenn’s lawsuit allegations “frivolous” and said her lawsuit should be dismissed.
Glenn, 29, was hired in 2017 and became the city’s first Black K-9 handler in 2021, the suit states. Glenn became pregnant last October and told her supervisors, who that same day took her off her patrol assignment, according to the suit, which also states that Glenn was told that she was being taken off patrol because the department allegedly does not have maternity uniforms for pregnant officers.
Glenn was reassigned to dispatch and remained there until going on maternity leave in June 2022, the suit states.
When Glenn complained to her union president in November 2021 that the department was discriminating against her on the basis of her sex, gender, and pregnancy and that the transfer was not recommended or required by her doctor, he responded by saying “words to the effect of, ‘If you want to stay in canine unit, I can push you down the stairs or kick you in the stomach,’ ” the suit states.
Glenn reported the union president’s alleged comment to King, who did not investigate and told the plaintiff to ignore the remark, the suit alleges.
Glenn further alleges the RBPD took away her patrol vehicle, forbade her from attending K-9 training and ordered her to turn over her dog in January 2022 so it could be sold.
Previously, a disabled male officer was allowed to continue working patrol and attend K-9 training with his dog and was never reassigned to a light-duty position for alleged safety reasons, nor was his animal taken away, according to the suit.
Glenn’s career has been damaged because she has been lost over time and promotional opportunities, and the stress has impacted her health, her suit states.
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