COUNTY SETTLES CLAIM DEPUTY CONTENDS HE WAS VICTIM OF RACISM.Byline: Patricia Farrell Aidem Staff Writer SANTA CLARITA Santa Clarita, city (1990 pop. 110,642), Los Angeles co., S Calif., suburb 30 mi (48 km) NW of downtown Los Angeles, on the Santa Clara River; inc. 1987. Situated in the Santa Clara valley and nearby canyons, Santa Clarita includes the former towns of Canyon Country, - The county will pay $138,000 to settle a lawsuit brought by an Asian-American sheriff's deputy who claimed he was the target of racism, then a victim of retaliation when he complained. The sum settles a lawsuit brought by Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. County Sheriff's Sgt. Brian Moriguchi, a 14-year veteran from Santa Clarita. Moriguchi won his case in a July 1999 jury trial and was awarded $58,400 in damages. The judgment was against two of his supervisors, but the county appealed, saying it was inconsistent to fault county employees if the county was not liable. The county agreed to the settlement this week ``to bring closure,'' County Counsel Bill Pellman said. The sum included the original judgment, legal fees and interest. Moriguchi initially complained in 1996 after a derogatory drawing depicting an Asian man was posted on an official bulletin board at the Santa Clarita Metrolink station where the deputy was assigned. ``There was no doubt that the drawing, which was clearly inappropriate, had existed,'' Pellman said. Moriguchi reported the incident to his superiors, and then was subjected to retaliation, according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. his attorneys. His locker was raided, his girlfriend was followed by another sheriff's deputy and false charges of misconduct against him were made, said Kathay Feng of the Asian Pacific American Legal Center of Southern California Southern California, also colloquially known as SoCal, is the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Centered on the cities of Los Angeles and San Diego, Southern California is home to nearly 24 million people and is the nation's second most populated region, , which represented Moriguchi. Joined by the American Civil Liberties Union American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), nonpartisan organization devoted to the preservation and extension of the basic rights set forth in the U.S. Constitution. , the legal center used Moriguchi's experience to urge the county Board of Supervisors The examples and perspective in this article or section may represent an unduly geographically limited view of the subject. Please [ improve this article] or discuss the issue on the talk page. The Board of Supervisors is the body governing counties in the U.S. to set up an independent office to investigate such complaints. The civil rights group asked that the supervisors consider the idea at their March 28 meeting. Pellman said such an office is unnecessary because Sheriff Lee Baca, elected after the Moriguchi incident, already has set up a special unit to respond to deputies' complaints. The unit reports directly to the undersheriff Un´der`sher`iff n. 1. A sheriff's deputy. , bypassing the normal chain of command to protect deputies against retaliation, Pellman said. Feng lauded that change in the force, but said it would be far more effective to have an independent office track such complaints. |
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