The city of Beverly Hills has issued a response to a cease and desist letter sent to Beverly Hills Police Chief Mark Stainbrook on behalf of the Beverly Hills Police Officers Association (POA), the official union of the Beverly Hills Police Department (BHPD).
The letter, obtained by the Courier follows a vote of no confidence in Stainbrook that was issued by members of the POA in June. The cease and desist letter alleges that Stainbrook retaliated against POA President Christian Bond in the wake of the vote.
POA members include all BHPD sworn personnel, including officers, sergeants, lieutenants and captains. The chief of police is not a member.
According to the letter, sent on July 18 by the attorney for the POA Stuart D. Adams of the Adams Legal Group, Stainbrook “engaged in a course of conduct intended to intimidate, discredit, and retaliate against President Bond for fulfilling his protected duties as an elected union representative.”
The letter states that Stainbrook’s actions include “circulating false rumors and defamatory statements” within the police department alleging that Bond “orchestrated” the no confidence vote and that he engaged in communications with Beverly Hills Unified School District (BHUSD) Dr. Alex Cherniss to “disseminate false and damaging information, in what appears to be a tortious interference with a prospective economic advantage with a post-retirement employment opportunity.” (Bond’s wife is an employee of BHUSD.)
The letter further accuses Stainbrook of “engaging in retaliatory conduct that has created a hostile work environment and has had a chilling effect on the willingness of POA members to engage in protected labor activity”.
These actions, the letter goes on to allege, are violative of both state and federal law. Should the behavior persist, the letter states that the POA is prepared to pursue all available legal remedies, “including injunctive relief and civil damages.”
In addition to demanding that Stainbrook cease and desist for the above conduct, the letter directs him to preserve all communications related to the vote of no confidence and any communications related to Bond and POA activity.
In a statement, Keith Sterling, Beverly Hills’ deputy city manager, confirmed that the city has received the letter. He noted that “some of the items that the POA has raised through their vote of no confidence have been part of the negotiations between the city and the POA. Others address the relationship between Chief Stainbrook and Association members.”
Sterling added, “Chief Stainbrook and the City Manager have developed a plan to address the concerns raised by the POA Board not specific to the negotiations. These include improving communication within the department and enhancing hiring efforts. The Chief has been meeting with individual police officers to keep lines of communication open and solicit feedback and will be presenting additional recruitment strategies to the City Council in the coming weeks. As the City remains in active negotiations with the POA, the remaining items will be addressed through that process.”
