Folsom approves settlement for third ex-police officer who alleged racism
The Folsom City Council approved Tuesday a $250,000 payment to settle a lawsuit filed by a former police officer who alleged he faced racial discrimination and retaliation for reporting misconduct.
Folsom police officers invoked Homer Limon’s race only after he reported three other officers who engaged in “suspicious conduct” around 2008, according to the lawsuit filed in Sacramento Superior Court, which also noted Limon is Latino. Two of the men accused by Limon, former officers Carl Siegler and Brian Unden, were fired in 2009 for inappropriately acting with college-aged girls in their city-issued vehicles during an undercover sting operation, according to previous Bee reporting. At the time, the third officer, whose name has not been released, was not fired.
Limon’s case comes as city officials paid last month $700,000 to settle lawsuits brought by two former police officers who also claimed their colleagues lodged racist remarks. James Dorris received $550,000 and Kimberly Lim-Watson received $48,000, with a $102,000 workers compensation claim. Dorris and Lim-Watson are of Asian descent.
A Folsom spokesperson previously called Dorris’ lawsuit “retaliatory” after he was fired in 2022 for sending racist texts laced with prejudice against African Americans, allegedly had oral sex at least four times while on duty and reportedly lied during the agency’s internal investigation. An independent arbitrator did not uphold the city’s accusations of inappropriate sexual behavior but found Dorris was correctly terminated for the racist texts and lying, according to previous Bee reporting.
Dorris claimed in a 2023 lawsuit that he faced racism when his colleagues affixed “anti-Asian and racially offensive” stickers atop his locker and commented about his slanted eyes. Officers mockingly asked him how to pronounce Asian names written on an arrest board, Dorris’ lawsuit alleged.
On Wednesday, Folsom spokesperson Christine Brainerd said the city believes the settlement was the most responsible way to bring the lawsuit to an end, avoid further expenses and bypass uncertainty brought by further litigation. The city also did not have to admit liability or fault in Limon’s case, she wrote. Limon worked at the Folsom Police Department from 2003 until he retired in 2022, according to the lawsuit.
“The city’s leadership team is deeply committed to a professional environment built on mutual respect, and we will continue to prioritize the policies that ensure every member of the city organization is treated with dignity,” Brainerd wrote.
Limon, who was named in Dorris’ lawsuit, said he flagged how officers discussed paying for “sexual services” at massage parlors, the lawsuit said. Limon reported in 2008 driving former Folsom cop Unden to a massage parlor, and Unden later described the “specific detail of the sexual acts, the ‘hand job,’ performed by a female worker at the massage parlor,” Limon’s lawsuit alleged.
After the city fired Unden and Siegler, Limon said he was called a “rat” and “snitch” by other officers and his superiors, the lawsuit filed in 2024 said.
Limon also reported comments targeting his Hispanic heritage, according to the lawsuit.
His colleagues, in a “mocking manner” asked Limon to pronounce Hispanic names written on an arrest board. Someone drew a stick figure with a sombrero hat, calling it “Limon,” the lawsuit alleged.
After officers arrested a person, Limon would hear comments such as “We just arrested your son on the street” or “Limon, we arrested your people today,” the lawsuit said.
Limon suffered emotional distress, a loss of pay and damage to his career, the lawsuit said. His case was listed on the closed session agenda for Tuesday’s Folsom City Council meeting.
Payroll records maintained by Transparent California show Limon was last paid $149,913 in total pay by the city of Folsom in 2021.
