Openly gay LAPD Sgt. Ronald Crump was awarded $1.1 million Thursday when a jury sided in his case after a civil lawsuit against the city of Los Angeles for allegations including discrimination, retaliation and humiliation, in particularly received from LAPD management.
Crump is a well-known LAPD officer and served as a poster boy for the allegiance between the Los Angeles police department and the LGBT community. But as Crump climbed the ranks, he alleged that management harassed and retaliated against him after his post as an LAPD spokesperson for Media Relations. In his allegations, Crump said Lt. John Romero, his superior, had humiliated him following a complaint.
According to the LA Times, senior officials at the LAPD acknowledged the issues surrounding Crump’s case after attempting to undermine his story by unsuccessfully recruiting several witnesses for trial.
LAPD officials spoke candidly of the events surrounding Crump leading up to the allegations.
“We have a lot of work to do in this area,” Cmdr. Rick Webb, operations spokesperson at LAPD’s Internal Affairs Group.
Employment policies at LAPD specifically prohibit any form of discrimination, retaliation, humiliation or any other act that may represent misconduct or an infringement of civil rights.
The jury ultimately sided with Crump which led to his victory in this case.
