Parenti v. Broadmoor Police Prot. Dist.

1

DAVID PARENTI et al., Plaintiffs and Respondents, v. BROADMOOR POLICE PROTECTION DISTRICT et al., Defendants and Appellants.

A164200

California Court of Appeals, First District, Fifth Division

September 23, 2024

NOT TO BE PUBLISHED

(San Mateo County Super. Ct. No. 21CIV03905)

Jackson, P. J.

Eleven defendants appeal from separate orders denying their special motions to strike under the anti-SLAPP statute (Code Civ Proc., § 425.16),^[1]filed in this retaliation and discrimination lawsuit. The plaintiffs are David Parenti Victor Khedr; Syed Husain; and Five Points Tire Imports, Inc. (Five Points). Parenti, Khedr and Husain are former police officers of Broadmoor Police Protection District (District) and Five Points is a corporation that contracted with the District to provide service for the District's patrol vehicles. Khedr is also the chief executive officer of Five Points. The plaintiffs allege multiple causes of action including whistleblower retaliation, harassment, and discrimination. The defendants are the District; five District police officers; four current or former members of the District's board of police commissioners; and Michael Connolly, who was a police commissioner and then the District's chief of police. The trial court denied each defendant's anti-SLAPP motion on the grounds that the defendants failed to meet their burden to show the plaintiffs' claims arise out of protected activity. We affirm.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

I. Parties

A. Defendants

The District is a public entity that employs Broadmoor police officers and conducts operations as the Broadmoor Police Department. The governing body of the District is the Broadmoor Board of Police Commissioners (Board), which consists of three elected commissioners.

Micheal Connolly was a commissioner. On May 28, 2019, Connolly was appointed chief of police and remained in that position until he resigned on June 8, 2021.

Defendants Patrick Tobin, Ronald Banta, Peter Nelson, John Duncan, and Eric Eaton are, or were, District police officers of various ranks. We refer to them collectively as the officer defendants.

Defendants Sylvia Koh, James Kucharszky, Ralph Hutchens, and Maria Brizuela are, or were, elected police commissioners. We refer to them collectively as the commissioner defendants.^[2]

B. Plaintiffs

David Parenti is the former chief of police for the District. He was terminated on July 20, 2020, allegedly for protected whistleblower activity. Victor Khedr and Syed Husain were part-time police officers with the District. Khedr and Husain were allegedly unlawfully terminated on September 8, 2021.

Five Points is a corporation that operated a vehicle repair shop which serviced District vehicles. Khedr is the chief executive officer of Five Points.

C. First Amended Complaint

The first amended complaint (FAC) contains 14 pages of background facts. We summarize those that appear relevant to plaintiffs' claims and the issues on appeal. In November 2015, Connolly was elected to the District's Board. In December 2018, the District's chief of police retired, and the Board appointed Parenti as District manager and authorized him to find a chief of police. A month later, the Board appointed Parenti as chief of police. Connolly, who was chair of the Board at the time, pressured Parenti to recommend him for the chief of police position.

In March 2019, Connolly reopened an adjourned Board meeting to have the Board vote for him as chief of police, which was in violation of conflict-of-interest laws. In May 2019, Connolly was sworn in as chief of police and Parenti remained District manager. Connolly began to recruit his close friends as part-time reserve officers, then promoted them to command-level positions without any selection process.

Plaintiffs observed the new staff, particularly defendants Banta and Tobin, make derogatory, disparaging, and discriminatory comments regarding age, race, religion, and gender. When Connolly was told of Banta's rhetoric, Connolly stated that was "just Banta's nature and to look past it."

When Tobin made offensive comments regarding a transgender officer, Connolly smirked.

District "whistleblowers, including Parenti,"^[3] observed fiscal mismanagement under Connolly's management. Plaintiffs learned that the District's auditor may have had concerns about spending discrepancies of hundreds of thousands of dollars. Parenti attempted to discuss these issues with Connolly, but Connolly deflected. Parenti also discussed concerns about finances with defendant Commissioner Kucharszky.

In the spring of 2020, defendant Commissioner Koh became aware of concerns regarding District spending and low morale. On June 24, 2020, Parenti met with Commissioner Koh at her request. Parenti advised Koh that "the numbers did not add up" and that the District was in danger of insolvency. Parenti urged Commissioner Koh to request the District's "trial balance sheet," which had been withheld from the Board.

On July 1, 2020, Husain sent a public records request to the District, asking for "financials and other documents relating to the appointment of Connolly against conflict-of-interest laws." Husain sent the request anonymously through an attorney. Connolly and his "command staff" investigated the origins of the fiscal inquiry. On July 14, 2020, Connolly interrogated Khedr about the public records request and said he would fire whomever sent the request. On July 14, 2020, at a closed session of the public meeting, Parenti was accused of sending the request.

On July 19, 2020, Commissioner Koh told Parenti that Connolly would meet with him the next day to discuss the District's finances. Parenti asked Commissioner Koh if he was being terminated for raising the issue of the District's finances with her, and she said no.

However, on July 20, 2020, Connolly terminated Parenti for insubordination based on the reporting of potential financial discrepancies. Connolly accused Parenti of sending the public records request.

On July 20, 2020, plaintiffs, fearing retaliation, filed a whistleblower complaint with the California State Auditor's Office. On July 21, 2020, Husain and another, unnamed District officer were interrogated by Connolly. The officers discussed their concerns about the District's finances and operations. Again, Connolly expressed his suspicions of Husain and the other officer because their concerns were similar to the public records request. Connolly said the public records request was insubordination and that he would deal with the" 'key players.'" Connolly offered Husain and the other officer promotions in exchange for "making the request disappear." He also said," '[I]f somebody stabs me in the back, I will break their arm and use that knife in unthinkable ways.'" Later, Connolly sent a text message to Husain and the other officer saying that his statements" 'came out wrong'" and that" 'there are some . . . who are trying to remove me . . . and I am . . . sensitive to that.' "

On August 10, 2020, Husain filed a complaint with the Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC), alleging Connolly violated Government Code section 1090 by using his elected position as commissioner to appoint himself police chief. Husain was harassed and retaliated against by the District. On September 24, 2020, the FPPC sent a letter to Husain, copied to Connolly, stating it was investigating Husain's allegations.

On October 13, 2020, defendant Tobin stated at a public Board meeting that the county counsel should allow him to do his job and fire the District's whistleblowers. Tobin also took a closefisted swing at Khedr.

On November 13, 2020, defendant Commissioner Koh resigned from the Board and referred to the growing intensity of the public meetings due to the whistleblowers' allegations and grievances.

On February 26, 2021, Tobin ordered Khedr to appear for an" 'administrative inquiry'" at 7:30 p.m. that Friday evening. Tobin would not tell Khedr the purpose. Khedr said he could not attend due to a religious obligation and because he wanted time to consult with his attorney. Khedr, who is Jewish and observes Shabbat on Friday evenings, believes the timing of the meeting was chosen to target him due to his religion. Tobin and Connolly punished Khedr by placing him on administrative leave that day. Khedr was ordered to return department property and forced to do so at a time to publicly humiliate him.

On March 8, 2021, Husain sent a cure or correct complaint to the Board for violations of the Ralph M. Brown Act (Gov. Code, § 54950 et seq.).^[4] On March 9, 2021, Tobin advised Husain he was being placed on administrative leave. He too was forced to come into the District building to return department property, which publicly humiliated him. Connolly then sent an email to the entire police department stating that Husain was on administrative leave and under investigation.^[5] During the internal investigation interview,^[6] Husain was questioned regarding where he obtained documents that were given to the Board and a recording that was given to the FPPC. The District claimed Husain violated the technology policy by accessing the documents. Khedr and Husain were placed on administrative leave for their attempts to exercise their lawful rights.

On June 8, 2021, Connolly resigned from the District because of anticipated criminal charges for using his position as commissioner to appoint himself chief of police. The commissioners expressed disappointment that Connolly was resigning. Commissioner Hutchens stated," 'I think we have had a big loss here [. . .] over an unintentional mistake that was pushed outrageously, and I don't like it.' "

On June 17, 2021, the San Mateo District Attorney charged Connolly with...