A Black Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputy is suing the county, alleging she was denied a transfer from her bailiff job at the Inglewood Courthouse because the head of the unit to which she sought a transfer did not want a Black woman within the ranks. Deputy Porsche Heisser’s Los Angeles Superior Court lawsuit alleges race and gender discrimination and failure to prevent discrimination. She seeks unspecified damages.
An LASD representative did not immediately reply to a request for comment on the suit brought Jan. 9.
Heisser was hired by the LASD in January 2006 and has been assigned to the Inglewood Courthouse since 2016, but in September 2021 she applied for a transfer to the Inglewood levy crew process serving unit within the Civil Management Bureau, the suit states.
The new job offered more pay, better working hours and flexibility that would have allowed Heisser more speedy promotions as well as a quicker path to retirement, the suit states. Heisser met every qualification for the position as outlined in the job bulletin and was first on the seniority list when it was published in October 2021, according to her suit.
“The problem for Heisser was that the supervisor of the Inglewood Levy Crew made it well known that he did not want a Black woman on his team,” according to the complaint, which further states that the levy crew was exclusively male and predominantly Latino and white.
The unit’s one Black male told Heisser that the supervisor was “openly strategizing ways to keep Heisser off the team the suit states.
“Heisser was informed that the supervisor went as far as to stated that over his dead body would he allow Heisser, as a Black female, onto his crew,” the suit states.
The position was left vacant for more than 1 1/2 years and Heisser believes it was because the LASD did not want to fill the slot knowing that she was first on the seniority list, according to the suit, which further states that the plaintiff found out that in April 2023 the union rules were changing to allow selections for such positions without a seniority preference.
In addition, the LASD enacted a requirement that candidates have three years of patrol experience, one more than Heisser had, the suit states.
Heisser filed a grievance in September 2022 for being denied a transfer and ultimately the job was given to a male Latino deputy, the suit states.
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Discrimination says
Porsche is lucky to even have a job.