A Los Angeles Superior Court jury has handed $14.6 million to four Los Angeles Police Department officers who say the department sidelined them after they raised red flags about unsafe firearms training at the LAPD’s Granada Hills range. After a multi-day trial, jurors backed the officers’ claims that speaking up cost them coveted assignments, promotions and their forward momentum inside the department, putting a fresh spotlight on how the LAPD runs the Edward M. Davis Training Facility and handles internal complaints.
Who the officers are
The plaintiffs are Officers Craig Burns, Alex Chan, Mark Hogan and Kristine Salazar, two veteran armorers and two senior firearms instructors, as reported by the Los Angeles Times. Their attorneys say each officer brought nearly twenty years of experience to the job, and that the lawsuit grew out of concerns first raised in 2018. According to the plaintiffs’ legal team, the jury’s award comes to roughly $14.6 million in total.
Attorney: verdict exposes retaliation
Lead plaintiffs’ attorney Matthew S. McNicholas hailed the outcome in a firm press release, saying the four officers “bravely spoke out not just for their own rights, but for the safety of the public and their fellow officers.” The officers contend that instead of fixing the training issues they flagged, the department launched Internal Affairs investigations and hit them with demotions, removals from specialized posts and forced transfers. The case was tried in the courtroom of Judge Kristin S. Escalante.
Timeline and allegations
According to the suit, the officers started sounding the alarm in 2018 about staffing shortages, risky training protocols and other conditions at the Edward M. Davis Training Facility. They allege that by 2019 those complaints were followed by negative actions at work. Officer Kristine Salazar filed the first formal complaint in December 2019, and the matter eventually went to a multi-day jury trial this week. As reported by ABC7 (City News Service), attorneys for the city argued that the LAPD neither retaliated against nor discriminated against the officers and that they did not suffer damages.
Where this happened
The Edward M. Davis Training Facility in Granada Hills serves as the LAPD’s main hub for firearms and tactical instruction, and LAPD documents list its address as 12001 Blucher Avenue. The plaintiffs say many of the disputed practices took place on those grounds and shaped how recruits were trained. The verdict could prompt internal scrutiny of range safety and oversight, although officials have not announced any immediate policy shifts.
Legal implications
The jury’s decision marks a significant civil finding that punishing officers for raising workplace safety concerns can carry a serious financial price tag for the city when retaliation is proven. The award could still face post-trial motions or an appeal, but for now the jurors have sided with four officers who said their careers were damaged after they spoke up about training safety at the department’s own gun range.
