Former Long Beach Police Officer Drops Gay Discrimination Lawsuit
LONG BEACH (CBSLA.com) — A former officer who claimed the Long Beach Police Department fired him for being gay dropped his discrimination lawsuit Friday.
Brent Record had an exemplary seven-year run with the department until Sgts. Scott Jenson and Gerardo Prieto became his supervisors, according to Record's attorney David Tibor at the onset of the trial.
He claims the sergeants knew Record was gay and "were looking to get him terminated."
Record claimed the sergeants once gave him an assignment based on his sexuality after being told it was "right up your alley."
Deputy City Attorney Haleh Jenkins argued that Record's firing had nothing to do with his sexuality, it was because he wasn't good at his job: he allegedly was afraid to respond to the most serious of calls and went out of his way to avoid them.
She said his actions "put the citizens of Long Beach in danger," and that he resisted attempts by LBPD management to correct his behavior.
Jenkins said Record's claims of discrimination are inconsistent with the city's social culture. She said Mayor Robert Garcia and several ranking members of the police department are homosexual and Long Beach has a large population of gay residents.
Record dropped his lawsuit Friday amid a civil court trial, just before he was to take the stand for his lawsuit trial.
Record's attorneys could not be reached for comment.
Related Story: Lawyer Says City's 1st Openly Gay Officer Was Retaliated Against For Alleging Discrimination
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