<nobr>Oct. 23</nobr> Council Closed Session Item Scheduled After $700,000+ Jury Verdict In Favor Of Thomas Gonzales, Former Civilian Investigator For City Hall's "Citizen Police Complaint Comm'n" Who Alleged Retaliatory Termination After He Criticized Handling Of Police Misconduct Cases

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Oct. 23 Council Closed Session Item Scheduled After $700,000+ Jury Verdict In Favor Of Thomas Gonzales, Former Civilian Investigator For City Hall's "Citizens Police Complaint Comm'n" Who Alleged Retaliatory Termination After He Criticized Handling Of Police Misconduct Cases

Oct. 9 Council agenda item sought approval to pay lawfirm $200k more on appeal but was withdrawn; on Oct 8, Beachcomber columnist Steve Downing sharply criticized the agenda item, and at Oct 9 Council meeting, one of the jurors on the case she found evidence in favor of Gonzales "overwhelming."

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(Oct. 19, 2018, 6:20 p.m.) -- An item has appeared for closed session City Council discussion on Oct. 23 at 4:00 p.m. in the case of Thomas Gonzales v. the City of Long Beach, following a $700,000+ jury verdict in favor of Mr. Gonzales and against the City, after Mr. Gonzales alleged his termination as a civilian investigator for City Hall's "Citizens Police Complaint Commission" was a retaliatory response to his criticism of the City's handling of certain police misconduct cases.

On Oct. 8, Stephen Downing, a columnist for The Beachcomber who'd reported on the case over a period of years, bylined an online piece sharply critical of an Oct. 9 agenda item seeking Council approval to pay an outside law firm an additional $200,000 (for a total not to exceed $515,000) to pursue the case further.

At the opening of the Oct. 9 Council meeting, Vice Mayor Dee Andrews announced that the item had been withdrawn, but it didn't deter 3rd dist. resident Jane Hall from waiting three hours to come to the public speakers' podium, announce that she was "juror number 4" on the Gonzales trial and tell the Council:

I have no permission to speak for the other jurors; this is me...We studied the evidence, the evidence was there and we made the right decision. It was a very solid decision. The evidence to me was overwhelming and we all agreed that our decision would be for the plaintiff...[Y]ou can say yes, we'll give [the lawfirm] the money...keep this thing going, it's legal, but I will never believe that in this case it is right, because we made the right decision.

The Oct. 23 closed session item simply states:

Existing Litigation - closed session conference with legal counsel relating to existing litigation pursuant to Paragraph (1) of subdivision (d) of Section 54956.9 of the California Government Code.
...Thomas Gonzales v. The Citizens Police Complaint Commission, et al.; Los Angeles Sup. Ct. Case No.: NC053533; Thomas Gonzales v. City of Long Beach & Citizens Police Complaint Commission; Court of Appeal of California, Second Appellate District, Division Three, Case No.: B249060.

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