Judge Orders Back Pay For Gay Cop 
Mary Ellen Peterson
365Gay.com Newscenter in Los Angeles

(September 7, Los Angeles) The Los Angeles Police Department has been ordered to reverse the suspension of a former officer who won a landmark discrimination settlement.

Superior Court Judge Carolyn Kuhl saidforce must pay former Sgt. Mitchell Grobeson back wages plus interest for a 195-day suspension in which he received no salary. 

The case goes back to 1993 when Grobeson wore his police uniform without permission while attending a gay pride festival and in a magazine advertisement recruiting gayss to the LAPD.

Grobeson and two other officers won $770,000 in a civil suit. As part of the damages, the department promised to improve its hiring and training of gay officers. But Grobeson claims the department failed to follow up with the reforms and filed another suit in January 1996. In the second suit, he also alleges that fellow officers and supervisors harassed him.

Later that year the department filed misconduct charges. He later retired on a stress disability claim and challenged the suspensions in court.

In 1999, Kuhl threw out the suspensions but negotiations between Grobeson and the department for a possible settlement broke down and his attorney sought an order asking for back pay.

His attorney added the suit seeking to enforce the 1993 settlement is still pending.

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