Berkeley’s recently fired director of police accountability has sued the city and Mayor Adena Ishii, claiming she and other officials deliberately made his job impossible and retaliated against him for trying to do it.
In a civil complaint filed in state superior court on May 15, Hansel Aguilar accused the city of wrongful termination, harassment, discrimination, interference, retaliation and violation of whistleblower protections. Aguilar’s complaint alleges police and other Berkeley officials were trying to “undermine” his investigations.
“These issues we’re seeing, they’re unfortunately not specific to one specific jurisdiction, but are part of a broader story of resistance toward oversight,” Aguilar told Berkeleyside in a phone interview, echoing sentiments he expressed in an East Bay Times op-ed in September…