Complaint Commission

I was a juror on the Thomas Gonzales vs City of Long Beach civil suit. Mr. Gonzales was hired by the City of Long Beach to be an investigator in the Citizens Police Complaint Commission. This commission sounded like a good idea: people with complaints about police needed a non-police place to go for help. A seasoned non-police investigator in an office separate from the police de­partment would investigate to see if the complaint was valid and needed further attention.

What could go wrong? The police did not like anyone pointing out errors. When several very se­rious complaints were returned stamped “No Further Attention,” Gonzales began pushing for explanations. What did he get? A hostile workplace, accusations of wrong doing, and finally, when they had stripped him of doing investigations, he was fired.

The conflict came to the Superior Court. We twelve ruled in Gonzales’ favor. The City Council gave City Attorney Charles Parkin hundreds of thousands of dollars more to fight for a retrial. It was denied. Parkin then gave the go ahead to the two-time losing attorneys to try again to deny this innocent man the compensation he deserves. City corruption at its worst – 13 years and counting.