Third Lawsuit Filed Against UCSB Police Department

By edhat staff

Three lawsuits have now been filed against the UC Police Department at UC Santa Barbara for the 2018-2019 school year, reports The Daily Nexus.

UC Police Department Lieutenant Mark Signa filed the first lawsuit in November 2018 against former Chief of Police Dustin Olson for allegedly denying the officer’s First Amendment rights, violating the California Whistleblower Protection Act and inflicting emotional distress.

Married couple and Officers Tiffany and Michael Little filed another case in early March claiming they were retaliated against by their superiors and co-workers after reporting violations and suspected illegal activity conducted by other officers. They are suing for violation of the California Whistleblower Protection Act and violation of the California Labor Code.

Another former UC Santa Barbara police officer filed the third suit against the UC Police Department on March 27 for violations of the California Whistleblower Protection Act, failure to take corrective action and emotional distress. The officer has been identified as Ryan Smith and is referred to as John Doe in the court filings, reports The Daily Nexus.

Smith was named in Tiffany and Michael Little’s lawsuit for allegedly conducting several instances of misconduct.

In Smith’s own lawsuit, he makes several serioua allegations against the Little’s and former Chief of Police Dustin Olson, former Assistant Chief of Police Cathy Farley, Lieutenant David Millard, Lieutenant Mark Signa, Lieutenant Robert Romero, and Officer Ryan Hashimoto.

This lawsuit alleges that Smith was consistently retaliated against by fellow officers for bringing attention to concerning practices and behaviors within the UC Police department. Smith alleges his co-workers mocked UCSB Chancellor Henry T. Yang, fellow officers, and sexual assault and rape victims, as well as falsifying sexual assault reports and racial discrimination, reports The Daily Nexus.

The full lawsuit including specific allegations can be viewed here.