A former police captain who alleges in a lawsuit that he was fired for whistleblowing on his colleagues and exposing corruption throughout the Vallejo Police Division will obtain almost $1 million in a settlement with the town.
John Whitney and his legal professional, Jayme Walker, agreed to the settlement final week, through which the town will probably be required to pay Whitney $900,000 in addition to all prices, liens and legal professional charges.
“I really feel vindicated by the settlement settlement due to the quantity,” Whitney advised The Instances in an interview Monday. “You don’t accept almost $1 million in the event you did every thing appropriate.”
Whitney alleges in a lawsuit filed towards the town and his former employers in 2020 that he was fired after he advised Vallejo Metropolis Supervisor Greg Nyhoff, Mayor Bob Sampayan and then-Metropolis Atty. Claudia Quintana that members of the Police Division have been bending the corners of their badges to commemorate each time an officer killed a civilian.
Learn extra: Assaulted pupil sues Claremont Unified Faculty District, alleging it failed to guard towards bullies
The Instances reached out to the town of Vallejo, the places of work of the town legal professional, the town supervisor, the mayor, former Police Chief Andrew Bidou and the Vallejo Police Division on Monday. They did not instantly reply to requests for remark.
Monica Martinez, a spokesperson for the Solano County district legal professional’s workplace, confirmed that an impartial third-party investigation into “badge bending” within the division “didn’t give rise to any legal legal responsibility.”
Whitney advised The Instances that he first grew to become conscious of badge bending throughout the division in late 2014 or early 2015 from one other officer. He then realized about it a second time in February 2019 when an officer was positioned on administrative go away and needed to flip in his badge. When Whitney requested him why two edges have been bent, the officer stated it represented the 2 folks he had killed within the line of obligation.
Whitney, who had labored for the Vallejo Police Division since 2000 and was promoted to the rank of captain in 2015, additionally reported what he maintained have been different illegal practices and mismanagement underneath the tenure of former Chief Bidou, who can be named within the lawsuit. Whitney reported {that a} sergeant used power on a minor and filed a false use-of-force report saying that the kid had made terrorist threats.
Learn extra: Suspect arrested in killing of L.A. County sheriff’s deputy in Palmdale
Whitney alleged that he requested Bidou to conduct an inside investigation into badge bending throughout the division, however Bidou refused. Whitney then ordered all supervisors to gather any bent badges, and about 10 have been discovered. Bidou allegedly ordered the badges returned to the officers and advised them to repair them. Whitney stated he was involved about destruction of proof and notified Nyhoff, Sampayan and Quintana.
Whitney advised The Instances that it’s frowned upon in regulation enforcement to report misconduct about different officers as a result of meaning “crossing the skinny blue line.” There’s additionally concern of retaliation by each superiors and colleagues.
“Too many issues have been occurring, and there was no accountability,” he stated. “I used to be stunned and shocked that Metropolis Supervisor Nyhoff was concerned in mainly a conspiracy to conduct an inside affairs investigation and have me terminated. The individual I went to considering that is who can remedy these issues was additionally concerned in masking up the wrongdoing by the Police Division.”
Whitney alleges that, in August 2019, Bidou and Nyhoff retaliated towards him for reporting the badge bending and different misconduct and made him the topic of a “sham investigation” through which he was fired for deleting private content material from his department-issued cellphone, a observe that he stated is not prohibited by the Police Division.
Walker stated she hoped the settlement would push extra officers to return ahead about misconduct inside their departments.
“I hope that there’s going to be some actual change in Vallejo, and one of many vital issues maintaining them in line is the press has been intensely scrutinizing their conduct,” Walker advised The Instances. “That’s how we are able to shine a lightweight on this and shield whistleblowers who ought to’ve been commemorated as a hero and, as a substitute, have been illegally terminated.”
Whitney, who now works for the El Cerrito Police Division, stated there is a stigma from being fired from regulation enforcement, particularly as a high-ranking captain. He stated it was tough for him to search out one other job, and as soon as he began making use of, the companies advised him that they had been contacted about his previous. The chief of the El Cerrito Police Division even advised him that he had been requested why he employed Whitney.
“There was plenty of concern and sleepless nights that simply went on for years,” Whitney stated. “With all of my schooling, expertise and coaching, I used to be prepared for the subsequent step. As an alternative, I began over as a line-level patrol officer at a brand new company. They took every thing away from me that I used to be working towards in my profession.”
Join Important California for information, options and suggestions from the L.A. Instances and past in your inbox six days every week.
This story initially appeared in Los Angeles Instances.