Rains Lucia Stern St. Phalle & Silver

California's premier full-service law firm with an emphasis on the representation of peace officers in disciplinary, criminal, labor, workers' compensation, personal injury and other civil matters.

  • About Us
  • Practice Areas
    • Labor Representation
    • Civil Litigation
    • Personal Injury
      • Example of Case Results
    • Workers’ Compensation
    • Maritime Law
    • Estate Planning
    • DOE Security Clearance Hearings
    • Peace Officers
    • Firefighters
    • EMS Agency Investigations
    • Criminal Defense
    • CalPERS Appeals
  • Our Team
  • Classes
  • Media
    • Bulletins
    • RLS in the News
  • Resources
    • Links
    • Resources
    • Newsletters
  • Clients
  • Career Opportunities
  • Contact Us
  • Disclaimer

Berkeley police officer, union sue city over leaked information

August 5, 2014 by Hien Nguyen

From: The Daily Californian

By Kimberly Veklerov, 8/04/14

A Berkeley police officer, along with the union that represents her, sued the city of Berkeley and its police oversight agency Monday after a leak of confidential information about a high-profile death case.

Findings from a confidential hearing leaked to The Daily Californianshowed that BPD Officer Gwendolyn Brown, as the lead responding officer to a disturbance call, did not constantly monitor the vital signs of a restrained person, who died in police custody in February 2013. According to court documents, Brown and the police union allege invasions of privacy, intentional infliction of emotional distress and negligent infliction of emotional distress, among other counts, which amount to seven in total.

Kayla Moore, the deceased, was a 347-pound black transgender woman who had a history of mental illness. Responding officers restrained and arrested her in the apartment where she resided after her roommate called police earlier in the night. The coroner determined her death was caused by a toxic intersection of methamphetamines and codeine, complicated by cardiovascular disease and obesity.

A pending wrongful-death lawsuit filed by her father alleges that police “unlawfully seized, restrained, arrested and battered” Moore, resulting in her death.

After the publication of leaked information, officers refused to attend the commission’s confidential board of inquiry hearings, which are held after a complaint against an officer or department policy is made. City manager Christine Daniel postponed all hearings for 45 days, until July 12, and urged commissioners to sign declarations of their commitment to confidentiality, which they did in June.

A city investigation into the leak cleared city staff but did not investigate commissioners because they are not city employees.

The lawsuit alleges that Brown suffered severe emotional distress and that her professional reputation was damaged. It also alleges that the release of confidential information was “intentional and outrageous and done with reckless disregard.”

The plaintiffs requested an injunction to prohibit the requirement that unionized police officers appear or testify before the commission until all current commissioners are replaced or the source of the leak is found and removed from the Police Review Commission or denied access to its proceedings and reports.

The lawsuit seeks payment of damages that total to more than $25,000. The city and commission have 30 days to file a written response in Alameda County Superior Court. The commission is currently on summer recess and will hold its next meeting Sept. 10.

Attorney Harry Stern, a UC Berkeley alumnus and former police officer who is representing Brown and the police union, could not be immediately reached for comment.

The commission’s proceedings were previously suspended in August 2006 after a court ruled that police officer records must be kept private. Before the ruling, the commission’s hearings were open to the public and the complainant. Although disciplinary action against officers was already confidential in Berkeley, the commission’s investigation records about police misconduct used to be public. After the city filed an appeal, the hearings were reinstated in September 2007 but required to be held in a private forum.

The lawsuit filed Monday alleges that the city and commission are in contempt of court for disclosing personnel records, thereby breaching the 2007 ruling.

The police union also sued the city in 2002 and argued the commission’s procedures and public hearings violated state confidentiality laws.

 

Filed Under: RLS In The News Tagged With: harry-s-stern

Consultation Form

Offices across California to serve you.
Contact us now to schedule a consultation.
Contact form not loading? Click here!
Rains Lucia Stern St. Phalle & Silver, PC publishes this website as a service to our clients and other friends for informational purposes only. It is not intended to be used as a substitute for specific legal advice or opinions, and the transmission of information through this website is not intended to create an attorney-client relationship between sender and receiver. Internet subscribers and online readers should not act upon this information without seeking professional counsel.

© 2023 Rains Lucia Stern St. Phalle & Silver, PC. All Rights Reserved. | Disclaimer

We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies.
Do not sell my personal information.
Cookie settingsACCEPTREJECT
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Non-necessary
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
SAVE & ACCEPT
  • Contact Us

  • News Alerts

Official logo for Rains Lucia Stern St. Phalle & Silver
Rains Lucia Stern St. Phalle & Silver Logo
  • About Us
  • Practice Areas
    ▼
    • Labor Representation
    • Civil Litigation
    • Personal Injury
      ▼
      • Example of Case Results
    • Workers’ Compensation
    • Maritime Law
    • Estate Planning
    • DOE Security Clearance Hearings
    • Peace Officers
    • Firefighters
    • EMS Agency Investigations
    • Criminal Defense
    • CalPERS Appeals
  • Our Team
  • Classes
  • Media
    ▼
    • Bulletins
    • RLS in the News
  • Resources
    ▼
    • Links
    • Resources
    • Newsletters
  • Clients
  • Career Opportunities
  • Contact Us
  • Disclaimer
Hotline phone numbers. Northern California: 925-609-1699. Southern California: 310-393-1486.