Jury Hits LA with $14.6M Verdict for Whistleblower Cops

A jury just dropped a massive $14.6 million verdict against the city of Los Angeles,

citing with four veteran LAPD officers who claimed retaliation for blowing the whistle on

serious training flaws.

These officers, Craig Burns, Alex Chan, Mark Hogan, and Christine Salazar spoke up back

in 2018 about dangerous shortages at the departments, Edward M. Davis, training facility

and Grenada Hills.

They flytow understaffing left recruits with skimpy prep on handling deadly firearms, plus

some protocols that smelled like legal trouble.

Each one brings nearly 20 years on the job, with reps as top firearms, instructors and

armors.

Their lawyer called it a bold stand for public safety and fellow cops, but instead of fixes,

the department hit back hard starting in 2019.

That retaliation included internal affairs probes, demotions, yanking them from key roles,

forced transfers, and even pinning a fake blue flu sick out.

On one officer, after a legit sick day, the city fought it all, denying any payback or

harm.

This ruling shines a light on a chilling culture of silencing whistleblowers, holding

the line that accountability cuts both ways in blue.

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