An Arcadia police officer was rehired after filing a legal claim in response to his firing in December for allegedly using anonymous social media accounts to intimidate a former councilwoman and another city resident, according to documents and sources familiar with the matter.
Arcadia Police Department Officer Joshua Foulks, and in a separate claim Officers Robert Rajewski and Gaddi Wider, were seeking undisclosed amounts of compensation for alleged losses exceeding $35,000, documents show.
The claims submitted by Westlake Village-based Ferrone Law Group came a week after APD command staff terminated Foulks’ employment Dec. 3.
According to the document notifying city officials of Foulks’ claim, he “engaged in multiple forms of protected conduct throughout 2024 and into the fall of 2025. (Foulks) exercised constitutionally protected political-association rights through his involvement in the Police Officers’ Association, including endorsement decisions relating to elected officials. As a result, (he) experienced animosity and reprisal from command staff, motivated by (his) political affiliation, protected speech, and association with the POA.”
Foulks also “reported misconduct, conflicts of interest, and improprieties involving members of command staff and a City councilmember,” the claim notice alleges.
Former Councilwoman April Verlato said she is the unnamed official mentioned in the claims, which allege Chief of Police Roy Nakamura and APD Capts. Jeremy Lachenmeyer and John Bonomo are “the public employees who caused the injury, damage or loss.”
Foulks was fired after an internal APD investigation into misconduct allegations by Verlato and Arcadia resident Sonia Martin. Verlato and Martin filed complaints against Foulks with the city, alleging he used anonymous social media accounts to send them intimidating messages and publicly post negative comments.
During the alleged social media harassment in 2024, Foulks was a member of the police union’s contract negotiating team. His wife Kelly Foulks was the union’s social media director, according to a profile on the business networking website bold.pro.
A Dec. 8 letter to Martin from the Police Department confirmed the investigation of her complaint.
“A thorough investigation was conducted (by private investigative firm JL Group LLC) into your allegations, including an examination of the evidence and interviews with the officer involved,” according to the letter by Bonomo and signed by Nakamura. “At the conclusion of the investigation policy violations were sustained. This means that the actions of an officer were found to violate law or City and Department policy.”
The conclusion of the form letter, which did not identify Foulks or disciplinary actions, said the investigation provided officials “the opportunity to review (Martin’s) contact with our officer and to ensure that our personnel are acting professionally within the boundaries of law, ethics, and policies.”
Verlato, who received an identically worded and signed APD letter, represented Council District 1 from 2016 until she was termed out in November 2024. She claims Foulks and the police union were retaliating on a personal level because of her vocal opposition to large pay increases for police, firefighters and the city’s other unionized employees.
Verlato publicly voiced the allegations against the APOA at the Aug. 26 City Council meeting that hosted a hearing on the censure of then-Mayor Sharon Kwan, who voted against the latest round of contracts last year and has spoken critically of pay raises for city employees.
Kwan and Verlato have accused the council majority — Mayor Eileen Wang, Mayor Pro Tem Paul Cheng and Councilmen David Fu and Michael Cao — of agreeing to high pay raises for union members in exchange for support during election campaigns.
“I thought this was about the conduct of our Mayor Kwan, but actually it has nothing to do with her conduct, it has nothing to do with what she’s said or done here on the dais,” Verlato said during the meeting’s public comments portion. “What it has to do with is the contracts. We’re still here about the contracts.”
She referred to an estimated “30 union members” in attendance.
“They’re all here because they’re mad,” Verlato said. “They’re mad that Mayor Kwan voted against their contracts last year. They’re mad that I voted against it. They still got their raises, but they hate that she continues to talk about the budget and how we are spending more money than we have on these contracts. It was a 20% increase in employee costs (in 2024), that’s what the contracts did to us. We tried to say we couldn’t afford them.
“So they got upset,” Verlato continued. “They made a very good job of buying off council member Cheng when he was running and making sure David Fu would say what he needed to say to support those unions, but that’s why they’re here. I can’t even believe it.”
Verlato focused her ire on union supporters who she said follow her on social media with anonymously named accounts.
“They make up fake Facebook names. We had one of them make up a fake Instagram account, and the idiot used a city email address to do it,” Verlato said. “And then, I got tons of (direct mail) messages about how I’m having an affair with the city manager and an affair with one of the (APD) captains, and that they’re going to tell my family. Those are the threats that I got from these jerks back there behind us. Because they want to line their pockets with taxpayer dollars. That’s all this is about. It’s disgusting.”
In fall 2024 Martin linked an Arcadia city email address to the anonymous account “Arcadia_res_.” The account appeared to be connected with nearly identical Instagram handle “Arcadia_res” that had been sending her messages she found to be intimidating, some including photos of her home and internet searches of her name.
“This is where he called me ‘looney toons’ and told me I would be arrested if I filed a false police report,” Martin wrote in a timeline of events related to the complaint she filed.
“I didn’t know for sure when I made the complaint that it was (Kelly and Joshua Foulks) behind Arcadia_res,” Martin recalled in an email to HeySoCal.com. “I suspected that it was and that is what I told the investigator. I left it to him to verify. I filed that complaint once I saw that the second account lead back to a city email address and that it could be a couple of people, one of them being Joshua Foulks.”
A second account Martin discovered, Arcadia_Res_, leads back to an Arcadia city email address via Instagram’s password retrieval system. Martin recorded a video screenshot of the password request that shows a redacted email with a username starting with a “j” and ending in an “s” along with a domain name starting with an “a” and ending “.gov.”
In a lengthy comment thread Sept. 25 with Verlato, Martin and others on the Facebook group Arcadia California News, Kelly Foulks posted, “As everyone knows and I’ve said, I was Arcadia Res. Me, no one else. April and Sonia have and are doing far worse to me. They are stalking me, harassing me, slandering me and my husband, among many other things.”
On the motivation for using anonymous social media accounts, Kelly Foulks posted, “Speaking out as myself comes with repercussions. Which is why I tried to hide who I was. Once they found out they’ve done unthinkable things that I unfortunately cannot speak about right now. … When I am able to post I will do so.”
She added that Verlato and Martin “are trying to take down a completely innocent man who is an absolutely faithful public servant all because I spoke up about things I knew April was saying that were not truthful. …
“Please don’t take my silence as me hiding; or running away,” the post concluded. “When I can I will show everyone the truth, that’s not a threat, I think the public would love to see the text messages, pictures, emails and everything else I have.”
Officials would not confirm if Officer Foulks was fired and rehired.
“The city has a long-standing practice of not commenting on personnel matters, as many personnel records are confidential under California law,” Deputy City Manager Justine Bruno said in an email to HeySoCal.com. “This is especially true for peace officers, as numerous statutes safeguard and maintain the confidentiality of matters and issues concerning them.”
City Manager Dominic Lazzaretto has decision-making authority for personnel matters and disciplinary actions for employees, Bruno added.
“With respect to the employee discipline process, our established procedures offer most employees the opportunity to review and appeal any proposed discipline. These processes are designed to ensure fairness and due process, which may result in modifications to initial determinations,” Bruno said. “While I cannot comment on any specific personnel matter, it is important to note that policy violations can vary significantly in nature and severity. The standards for city employees — particularly our peace officers — are high, and not all violations result in serious disciplinary action.”
Joshua Foulks’ attorney Brett Rutkowski with Ferrone Law Group in Westlake Village did not respond to requests for comment, nor did officials from the police union or APD.
Foulks, whose voicemail is active at the Police Department, also did not respond. Payroll records obtained by HeySoCal.com through a public records request show Foulks received a check dated Jan. 8 for unused vacation days totaling $5,503 after taxes, a check for $17,440 on Feb. 23 for regular pay and on Feb. 23 a $7,568 check for regular pay.
Martin said she saw Foulks at APD headquarters in February participating in a training exercise.
Jonathan Ansell, president of the Arcadia Firefighters’ Association, responded in August to the comments Verlato made at the council meeting.
“Our members attended the meeting not out of animosity or anger toward any council member’s voting record, but because it was a historic moment in Arcadia’s governance — the first time a censure motion was brought before the council,” Ansell said in a statement to HeySoCal.com. “As stakeholders invested in the city’s operations and future, our members were there to observe this significant proceeding, reflecting our commitment to engaging with local government processes.
“We hold no ill will toward how any council member votes. We value the diversity of thoughts and opinions that contribute to robust decision-making, including Mayor Kwan’s continued discussions on the city’s budget,” Ansell said. “We fully support a fiscally responsible council, as a stable financial position benefits all city employees, enabling us to provide high-quality services to residents.”
Ansell said no members of the firefighters union were aware of Verlato’s allegations of anonymous social media harassment.
“On the accusation of a fake Instagram account created using a city email address: None of our members are aware of this incident, and it was not brought to our attention prior to Councilmember Verlato’s mention during the meeting,” Ansell said. “We take such allegations seriously and do not condone harassment or unprofessional behavior.”
Kwan said she was familiar with Martin and Verlato’s complaints and called for transparency in the decision-making process for matters involving city employees.
“When situations like this raise questions in the community, I believe residents deserve transparency about how decisions are being made,” the District 2 councilwoman said in an email to HeySoCal.com.
“When an officer is terminated after an independent investigation and a lengthy review process, the public naturally expects that decision to be respected,” Kwan said. “If that decision is later reversed, it is reasonable for residents to want to understand why. If there is a clear explanation for that change, I believe the public deserves to hear it openly. Transparency is the best way to maintain public trust.”
Kwan said she has “spoken with residents, including Sonia Martin, who have expressed real concern and anxiety about what has happened. No resident should ever feel intimidated or fearful when interacting with their own police department or when speaking up about issues in their community.
“Arcadia is fortunate to have many dedicated police officers who serve our city with professionalism and integrity every day,” Kwan added. “Because of that, it is important that disciplinary processes are fair, consistent, and trusted by both the public and the officers who do their jobs honorably.”
According to Verlato, “This was about retribution. The police union was upset about the way I voted on their contracts and they wanted to make me regret voting against them,” she told HeySoCal.com. “The unions had bought off the other council members with endorsements and campaigning door to door. They wanted to … show me what happens when a council member or member of the public goes up against them. …
“The messages I received were salacious, provocative and made without fear of consequences,” Verlato said. “They were meant to intimidate, humiliate and silence me. I have to believe that the officer and his wife believed that they could hide behind the council members who would use their voice and influence to place on a pedestal the police and prevent anyone from holding them accountable.”
Martin filed her complaint with the hope that the Police Department and police union “would learn from this and sort of scoot back into their own lane and stay out of the lane of the resident,” she said. “They crossed that line and I feel that is what is so disturbing about all of this. It is not OK for a police officer or his wife to open up anonymous social media accounts and harass and intimidate the mayor … and a resident just because they do not agree with their opinions.”