After months of turmoil and accusations of a plot to oust her, Chula Vista\u2019s police chief sued the city and four councilmembers Tuesday, alleging defamation, invasion of privacy and harassment.<\/p>\n
The legal action filed in San Diego Superior Court comes several weeks after Chief Roxana Kennedy filed claims with the city \u2014 generally seen as a precursor to a lawsuit \u2014 alleging that the city manager used an incident outside of work as a pretext to reprimand Kennedy and launched a retaliatory investigation.<\/p>\n
The defendants are the city of Chula Vista, City Manager Tiffany Allen and councilmembers Michael Inzunza, Cesar Fernandez, Carolina Chavez and Jose Preciado.<\/p>\n
Inzunza and Preciado declined to comment Wednesday, and the remaining two council members did not respond to a request for comment. A Chula Vista spokesperson declined to comment for the city and for Allen, citing the ongoing lawsuit. The city has strongly denied the allegations since they first surfaced earlier this year and said an alleged conspiracy to oust<\/a> her was \u201centirely false.<\/p>\n The suit does not name Mayor John McCann, and Kennedy\u2019s attorney said he has no reason to believe the mayor was involved in any of the alleged actions. McCann\u2019s office declined to comment on the suit and the months-long tensions between the city and its police chief.<\/p>\n Kennedy, 65, has been with the department for 33 years. She has led it since 2016 and is the longest-serving police chief in the region. The lawsuit alleges a council member was \u201csecretly vetting a younger Latino law-enforcement official in a nearby\u00a0jurisdiction\u201d to replace her. The suit does not identify the council member.<\/p>\n The chief has been out on medical leave since late January, shortly before news of tensions between the chief and the city broke. Kennedy\u2019s attorney, Cory Briggs, said Wednesday his client is still getting a paycheck, but \u2014 as the lawsuit alleges \u2014 she has been locked out of her email, personnel information and wage statement.<\/p>\n \u201cShe loves the community she serves, and she is disappointed that the city\u2019s leadership has treated her with disrespect and contempt,\u201d Briggs said Wednesday.<\/p>\n