SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — 11 officers with the San Diego Unified School District Police Department are suing the district, alleging a hostile work environment under Chief Alfonso Contreras. The number of officers suing represents nearly a third of the staff of the entire department. They are calling for Contreras to be placed on administrative leave during any investigation into the allegations.
“Our clients are suffering extreme emotional distress on a daily basis due to the retaliation," said Emilia Arutunian, one of the attorneys representing the officers.
The lawsuit accuses Contreras and a small group of officers, referred to as "The Club", of giving preferential treatment within the group and retaliating against others.
“What I see now is that officers who do their best and work the hardest to help and protect our students isn’t recognized. What is recognized is loyalty to those that follow him," one of the suing officers, Jesus Montana, told ABC 10News.
Montana says he was retaliating against for speaking up against violations of department policy by Contreras. As an example of retaliation, he says Contreras personally moved to eliminate a position that Montana was asked to fill the day before Montana was slated to start.
Other accusations in the lawsuit include timecard fraud, officers being denied promotions or training that would enable them to be eligible for promotion, and an incident in which officers say they were being threatened by a large group of teens and another officer in the so-called "club" refused to help.
In addition, an officer is accusing Contreras of sexual assault in 2014 before he became chief, saying he "forced his mouth and body onto hers" when they were briefly alone during a training.
A spokesperson for San Diego Unified declined an ABC 10News request for an interview, instead sending a statement. "All allegations received by the district are investigated and taken seriously. The district is precluded from discussing personnel matters."
