Former West Sacramento police chief says he was pushed out for seeking reforms. Now he’s suing

Former West Sacramento Police Chief Tom McDonald is suing the city, alleging that he did not retire willingly but was instead forced to resign as retaliation for advocating police reforms and disclosing misconduct among officers.

McDonald says in the complaint that he was pushed out after police unions opposed an independent review of the department that McDonald says he championed.

The suit, filed on June 12 in Yolo Superior Court, also said the city maliciously entered false claims into his personnel file without his knowledge, which prevented McDonald from getting a new job. He’s seeking unspecified damages for lost wages and emotional distress. According to Transparent California, which tracks public employee pay and benefits, McDonald earned in 2019 a salary of $169,616 and he received $84,162 from his pension after retiring as a captain in the Los Angeles Police Department after 30 years on the job.

McDonald took the job of police chief in 2013, after a West Sacramento police officer was arrested on charges of kidnapping and raping several women while on patrol duty.

In September 2019, McDonald met separately with both the West Sacramento Police Officers Association and Police Managers Association in advance of the City Council vote on the independent review initiative, according to the lawsuit.

In those meetings, McDonald contends in the suit, the union representatives expressed dismay with the proposed review board and asked for the measure to be “removed” from the City Council’s upcoming agenda.

When McDonald refused, the Police Officers Association allegedly told him, “You will have a morale problem,” according to the complaint.

On Sept. 19, one day after $95,000 in funding for outside reviews over two years was approved as a line item by the council, McDonald met with City Manager Aaron Laurel, according to the lawsuit.

In the meeting, Laurel allegedly told McDonald “since the POA and PMA were upset,” about the independent review initiative, his “position was no longer viable.”

The following day, Laurel asked McDonald to resign, according to the lawsuit. The lawsuit says that McDonald, who was an at-will employee, thought he had no choice but to comply.

POA president Nick Barreiro referred a request for comment to the City Manager’s Office. Paul Hosley, a spokesman for the City Manager’s Office, declined to comment.

West Sacramento Mayor Christopher Cabaldon also declined to comment on the lawsuit because the litigation is pending.

When asked about McDonald’s retirement generally, Cabaldon said, “There wasn’t a set of any incidents, or that sort of thing. There wasn’t a live controversy that just didn’t get caught. We had what I understand was our normal turnover.”

The lawsuit said, “It appears that McDonald’s constructive termination (i.e forced resignation) results, not from his performance, but from the above-referenced POA and PMA’s displeasure with McDonald’s holding of officers accountable, and particularly, with McDonald’s related advocating for the impending Independent Review Initiative.”

McDonald could not be reached for comment. His attorney, John Girardi, did not respond to multiple requests for comment.

Shortly after his last day on the force in November, McDonald failed the background check during the application process for a position with the California Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training, according to the lawsuit.

McDonald said he then checked his WSPD personnel file for the first time, and found responses to the commission’s personnel file questionnaire, submitted by the West Sacramento human resources director.

The lawsuit, which did not disclose the nature of the responses, calls the responses “reckless and malicious,” and “rather stunning in their falsity.”

McDonald alleges that the city misrepresented his performance record to prevent him from obtaining future employment.

McDonald also alleges that the city violated his rights under Public Safety Officers Procedural Bill of Rights, which mandates that a police officer be notified of any negative charges entered in their personnel file, and be given a chance to refute negative claims which accompany their discharge, among other provisions.

McDonald is also suing the city for violating a labor law that says an employer cannot prevent an employee from disclosing suspected misconduct to someone with the power to investigate or retaliate against them for doing so.