SANTA ANA, Calif. (KNX) — A Santa Ana police sergeant has filed a lawsuit against several city officials, including chief of police David Valentin.
Gerry Serrano, who serves as president of the Santa Ana Police Officers Association, filed his complaint late last year in Orange County Superior Court. The suit, which has since been transferred to O.C. federal court, alleged Valentin, conspiring with City Manager Kristine Ridge, City Attorney Sonia Carvalho, and H.R. director Jason Motsick, spied on him and covered up misconduct within the Santa Ana Police Department.
“It is believed that defendants Valentin and Carvalho formed a conspiracy to attack Serrano and the Santa Ana Police Officers Association,” the complaint states. “Valentin and members of his police management team have admitted animosity against Serrano as the president of the Santa Ana Police Officers Association. Conversely, Valentin gives special treatment and turns a blind eye to allegations of misconduct by those he believes will either give their loyalty to him and/or oppose the Santa Ana Police Officers Association.”
The relationship between Valentin and Serrano has historically been contentious. According to the suit, when Valentin sought appointment as police chief, he requested support from Serrano and the union. However, the relationship reportedly soured when Valentin eventually got the job in 2018, and Serrano in turn sought wage increases and better benefits for union members.
“Valentin’s demeanor and working relationship with plaintiffs became adversarial,” the complaint stated.
In 2019, the Santa Ana City Council passed a resolution approving salary bumps for unionized officers. Valentin opposed the raises, along with two other councilmembers. According to Serrano, the union then successfully led a recall effort to remove one of opposing members, “causing Valentin to become concerned with the SAPOA’s and Serrano’s political influence.”
A year later, Serrano alleged Valentin began “spying” on Serrano and members of the city council. In his suit, Serrano said Valentin redirected emails to his own account between councilmember Jose Solorio and Serrano from June 2017 to the present.
“Valentin had the city’s information technology department put a tracker on all of Serrano’s emails so that they would automatically be copied to Defendant Valentin,” the suit alleged.
Serrano further alleged city officials denied the union the ability to communicate with members through the city’s email server.
In his complaint, Serrano also alleged a number of cover-ups executed at Valentin’s alleged direction. In 2020, Serrano reported the theft of campaign signs related to the recall of Santa Ana City Councilmember Cecilia Iglesias. Serrano alleged one of the suspects was an unnamed city councilmember, and that a police commander directed the investigating officer to “alter his report” so that the suspect would not be listed.
Serrano said he reported the incident to Valentin, who ordered his internal affairs commander to conduct an investigation into Serrano instead of the officer suspected of orchestrating the cover-up.
When Serrano obtained a video recording showing the theft of the campaign signs, he said Valentin and Carvalho pressured the office of O.C. District Attorney Todd Spitzer to open a criminal case against the union boss.
He additionally alleged that Valentin covered up a complaint that two off-duty Santa Ana police officers “sexually battered” two underage girls at a Culichi Town restaurant. Video of the incident was reportedly recorded by a family member of one of the victims. A police commander reported the incident to internal affairs, led by Deputy Chief Robert Rodriguez, who declined to investigate, according to the complaint.
Paul Eakins, a spokesperson for the city of Santa Ana, has denied Serrano’s allegations.
“The claims made in this lawsuit are completely false and unfounded,” he told The Orange County Register. “The city will aggressively fight this frivolous litigation.”
An attorney representing Valentin said Monday he intended to file a motion to dismiss the lawsuit.
“It is intended to personally and maliciously attack chief Valentine and others with baseless and false allegations, in order to intimidate chief Valentine and the city for the personal, financial gain of Gerry Serrano,” he said in a statement. “Moreover, it is clear the lawsuit’s false allegations and vitriolic rhetoric is intended to ruin careers and create leverage to suppress public participation and further the political agenda of the police union.”
Related
