Months after accusations emerged of time card fraud, favoritism and potential conflicts of interest within the leadership of the small police department that serves San Diego Unified schools, a raft of complaints filed by a quarter of its officers allege in detail years of misconduct well beyond what was initially claimed.
Nine San Diego school police officers are accusing their department leaders of verbally abusing them, using racist and anti-gay language, violating employment law and creating a toxic work environment.
The conduct, officers said, has compromised not only their physical and mental health but also student and staff safety. Officers said their superiors have denied them training and mishandled investigations.
The nine complainants, whose tenures at San Diego Unified range from five to 33 years, represent a quarter of the department’s three dozen sworn officers. The agency is the only police department in San Diego County that is run by a K-12 school district; other districts use an outside law enforcement agency for police services.
The officers detailed their allegations in employment discrimination complaints submitted to the California Civil Rights Department earlier this month. The department said it is not investigating the complaints because the officers requested a right to sue, which the department granted.
In their complaints, the officers blame much of the alleged abuse on what they describe as a powerful clique within the department, saying it shows favoritism and has created an increasingly divided and hostile environment as its have ascended the ranks.
At the core of that group, according to officers, are their own chief, 34-year veteran Alfonso Contreras, and investigative Sergeant Jenifer Gruner, a 22-year veteran they say has been in a romantic relationship with Contreras for about two decades. Also in the group, they say, are Captain Ivan Picazo, Captain David Landman and Sergeant Robert Bonilla.
Contreras, Gruner and the other superiors accused in the complaints did not respond to requests for comment.
San Diego Unified does not comment on pending litigation, said district spokesperson Maureen Magee.
“The district is precluded from disclosing the details of personnel matters,” she said. “All allegations received by the district are taken seriously and investigated.”
When asked, Magee did not confirm whether the district is investigating the allegations in the complaints.
The complaints allege that the abuse has been ongoing for years but intensified after Contreras, a former captain, was chosen by new Superintendent Lamont Jackson as chief last year.
Now that Contreras is in the top job with from district leadership, the officers haven’t been able to get help from the district with their concerns, said Sergeant Jesus Montana, one of the nine officers who filed a civil rights complaint.
Montana, who has worked for the district for 33 years and who used to be president of the police officers union, said that in the past he had always been able to work with the district and the chief to resolve issues in the department — but no longer.
“Now the (union) has not been able to work out anything with the district,” Montana said. “The district is not willing, under Superintendent Jackson, to interfere or defend our officers from this maltreatment.”
Officers have said they are disappointed by what they see as a lack of action by the district in response to their concerns.
Earlier this year, their union, which is in contract negotiations with the district, asked the district to place Contreras, Gruner and Landman on leave and investigate prior allegations that Gruner committed timecard fraud. The union also voted to rate morale in the department: 19 of 25 officers who voted rated morale a D or F. The union president, Caleb Arnold, could not be reached for comment.
Since then the district has not indicated whether any investigation is underway. None of the subjects of the complaints have been placed on leave, as is typical for an investigation, according to school board meeting documents.
The officers claimed in their complaints that their superiors have yelled and cursed at them, made racist and anti-gay comments, belittled them in front of other officers and mocked their ethnicities, weight and more.
Sal Michael Halol, who is Filipino, said Picazo often mimicked a Filipino accent and asked him if he ate dogs, and once laughed and made a disparaging remark about the Philippines and LGBT people after he fell ill with tuberculosis.
William Corado, who is from El Salvador, said that he had been called derogatory epithets — a Spanish gay slur by Bonilla, “MS-13” by Picazo and Contreras and “ESL” and “ESL-speaking (expletive)” by Contreras, referring to people who speak English as a second language.
And Caleb Arnold, the officers’ union president, said Contreras repeatedly humiliated him because of his weight — including making a mocking video after he suffered heat stroke chasing a student in crisis through a hot canyon.
The officers also pointed to decisions they say were improper and jeopardized their work. Two said they were repeatedly denied trainings they had requested, stunting their professional growth and risking their safety.
Officers also alleged employment violations, saying they were forced to use vacation time to cover what should have been medical leave and were denied overtime pay after being forced to work overtime.
They said the stress has caused them medical issues ranging from depression and panic attacks to high blood pressure and kidney stones.
