Former LAPD Commander Wins Round in Retaliation Suit
A former Los Angeles police commander won a round in court Friday in her lawsuit against the city and the LAPD, which allege she was fired after being found passed out and drunk out in a police vehicle that crashed into a parked car while she was accompanied by a subordinate in 2018 in Glendale.
Cmdr. Nicole Mehringer alleges in her Los Angeles Superior Court that the LAPD's justification for taking her job away was a pretext. She contends that she actually dismissed for filing a motion that she believes could prove that female LAPD members are treated unfairly when compared to men regarding misconduct involving alcohol.
Mehringer's attorneys filed a motion asking Judge Theresa M. Traber to examine the 2018 transcript of the plaintiff's December 2018 Board of Rights hearing to determine whether retaliation was indeed the actual motivation to fire Mehringer. On Friday, Traber agreed to peruse the records in chambers on Dec. 6, then decide what information should be turned over to Mehringer's attorneys.
"The transcripts which plaintiff seeks via this motion are potentially material to the action on their face as their contents are direct evidence of the intentions of the Board of Rights," Traber wrote. "The court therefore finds that plaintiff has demonstrated good cause for in camera review of these records to determine their relevance."
The City Attorney's Office maintained in its court papers that the hearing transcript has no "materiality" to Mehringer's case.
The Board of Rights hearing concluded with Mehringer being found guilty of being drunk in a public place, allowing an intoxicated subordinate to operate the plaintiff's city-owned vehicle as well as failing to cooperate with police during her arrest and booking, the suit states.
Mehringer pleaded guilty to failing to disclose to the department that she was involved in a romantic relationship with a subordinate, the suit further states.
The thrust of Mehringer's lawsuit is that she was punished for filing a motion to determine whether the Board of Rights treated male officers different from their female colleagues when there is alcohol-related wrongdoing. Mehringer's original suit was brought in February 2019 and an amended version was filed in January 2022.
