LOS ANGELES – A Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputy who said he gave up hopes of a baseball career to join law enforcement has settled his lawsuit against the county, in which he alleged he was harassed by members of two purported deputy gangs and denied backup during a shootout with a suspect.
Deputy Robert Francis Coyle’s Los Angeles Superior Court lawsuit alleged whistleblower retaliation and general retaliation. On Wednesday, attorneys told Judge Wendy Chang on the day of trial that the case was resolved, but no terms were revealed.
In their previous court papers, county attorneys stated that Coyle’s allegations were not supported by evidence and that he was instead relying on “conspiracy theories, speculation and conclusory allegations.”
According to Coyle’s suit filed in July 2021, he once aspired to play for the Dodgers, but decided instead to pursue his other dream of serving in law enforcement. Coyle “was excited to go to work for the LASD and took pride in keeping residents safe,” the suit stated.
Coyle was initially assigned to work at the Lancaster Sheriff’s Station, but his father had heart and kidney transplants and the plaintiff asked to be transferred closer to his father’s home.
“Unfortunately, plaintiff was transferred to the East Los Angeles Station, an epicenter of deputy gangbanging,” the suit alleged.
Coyle contended that soon after his arrival at the East Los Angeles Station, some employees, including Deputy Braulio Robledo, began targeting him for discrimination and harassment based on his race.
Robledo, then an alleged Banditos gang prospect, and other station deputies thought Coyle must have been an FBI agent, according to the suit.
“Plaintiff did not know what he was walking into, but the dominance of the station by Banditos gang culture was palpable,” his court papers alleged.
Coyle stated he at first tried to ignore the harassment and hoped that after the deputies at the station saw the strong work ethic he displayed, he would be respected and be left alone. But Latino deputies were “suspicious over him being white and suspicious over him being focused on being a good cop,” according to his court papers.
Coyle alleged he was “deeply troubled” by what he believed was a culture at the East Los Angeles Station that encouraged conduct by deputies that violated laws and policies, so he complained to his supervisor.
“The defendants retaliated against plaintiff for speaking up and called him a rat,” the suit stated.
Soon thereafter, Robledo hinted to Coyle that the Banditos would start withholding backup help on his calls, the plaintiff alleged.
That threat became a reality in November 2019 when the Banditos purposely denied Coyle assistance as he pursued an armed suspect who turned to shoot at him, the suit alleged. Coyle filed multiple shots at the suspect, who escaped, according to his court papers.
The Banditos also retaliated against Coyle by overwhelming him with excessive calls, in the process causing other deputies to be unsafe, the suit alleged.
Coyle ultimately was granted a transfer from the East Los Angeles Station, but the suit stated that his problems with the Banditos did not end.
“After the plaintiff left the East Los Angeles Station, the Banditos spread false rumors about him to destroy his professional reputation,” the suit alleged. ” One of the lies spread by the Banditos was that Deputy Coyle had to be transferred out because he faked his own shooting.”
Not long after leaving the East Los Angeles Station, Coyle was driving his civilian car in Compton when he was stopped without justification by Deputy Bradley Liberator, an alleged member of the Regulators deputy gang, the suit stated.
“Liberator did not ticket Deputy Coyle and later lied about why he stopped the plaintiff,” the complaint alleged.
