A jury this week found that the University of California did not retaliate against a UC Santa Barbara police officer who resigned in 2017 and sued alleging misconduct in 2019.
They did find, however, that Ryan Smith, now an assistant chief for the law enforcement branch of the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services, reported improper governmental activity and made those communications in good faith.
Smith is one of several police officers who sued the university between 2018 and 2021, alleging department misconduct, retaliation and violations of the California Whistleblower Act…