LOS ANGELES – The Redondo Beach Police Department’s first Black K-9 handler officer is suing the city, alleging she was wrongfully removed from patrol after getting pregnant in 2021 and told by supervisors the department did not have maternity uniforms for expectant mothers.
Officer Daryn Glenn’s Los Angeles Superior Court lawsuit alleges gender and pregnancy discrimination, harassment, retaliation and failure to prevent harassment and discrimination. She is not suing for race discriminaton. She seeks unspecified damages.
A representative for the Redondo Beach City Attorney’s Office did not reply to a request for comment on the suit brought Friday.
Glenn, 28, was hired in 2017 and became the city’s first Black K-9 handler in 2021, the suit states. Glenn became pregnant last October and told her supervisors, who that same day took her off her patrol assignment, according to the suit.
“Specifically, plaintiff was told by supervisor Lt. Cory King that it is department policy to remove female officers from patrol for safety reasons once they get pregnant,” the suit states..
Glenn also was told that she was being taken off patrol because the department allegedly does not have maternity uniforms for pregnant officers, the suit states.
Glenn was reassigned to dispatch and remained there until going on maternity leave in June, the suit states.
When Glenn complained to her union president in November that the department was discriminating against her on the basis of her sex, gender, and pregnancy and that the transfer was not recommended or required by her doctor, he responded by saying ” words to the effect of, `If you want to stay in canine unit, I can push you down the stairs or kick you in the stomach,’ ” the suit states.
Glenn reported the union president’s alleged comment to King, who did not investigate and told the plaintiff to ignore the remark, the suit alleges.
Glenn further alleges the RBPD took away her patrol vehicle, forbade her from attending K-9 training and ordered her to turn over her dog in January so it could be sold.
Previously, a disabled male officer was allowed to continue working patrol and attend K-9 trainings with his dog and was never reassigned to a light duty position for alleged safety reasons, nor was his animal taken away, according to the suit.
Glenn’s career has been damaged because she has been lost overtime and promotional opportunities, and the stress has impacted her health, her suit states.
