The wife of a Los Angeles County sheriff's deputy who killed himself earlier this year announced a lawsuit against the department Friday.
The claim, filed by attorney Bradley Gage, alleges wrongful death, discrimination, retaliation, harassment, and too much forced overtime. The plaintiff is asking for $20 million in damages.
“He was working a double shift, then a single shift, then a double shift, then a single shift. He was getting home at 11 in the evening and having to wake up at 4 a.m. to go back to work,” Gage said. “That takes a terrible toll.”
Michelle Atilano, the wife of Deputy Arturo Atilano-Valadez, alleges that mandatory overtime led to her husband’s mental health decline. Atilano-Valadez died Nov. 7 and was one of four people connected with the sheriff's department to die by suicide within a 24-hour period.
“He talked about a lot of suicides that he saw in the hospitals. He saw deputies, friends die,” she said. “He saw lots of people commit suicide in the jails. He said that over time, I feel trapped. I feel like a slave to them. I'm just another number to them. Something happens to me, I'm just another number. They treat us like I'm just another number.”
Atilano said her husband asked for fewer hours and to be transferred to a different department, which didn’t happen.
L.A. County Sheriff Robert Luna addressed the understaffing issue within the department and vowed to make changes in a press conference earlier this week.
"We have lost eight employees to suicide. That is not acceptable," he said. "At the end of the day, it is our job, my job, to make sure we have the services available to our employees."
Following the suicides in 24 hours in early November, Luna issued a statement saying, "Our LASD family has experienced a significant amount of loss and tragedies this year. We are stunned to learn of these deaths, and it has sent shockwaves of emotions throughout the department as we try and cope with the loss of not just one, but four beloved active and retired members of our department family.”
The sheriff's department noted that it has counseling services available around the clock for department personnel, along with a peer support program. Support services are also being offered to the families of the employees who died.
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