Glendora Police Officer Sues Department for Alleged Racism and Arrest Quotas

Allegations of Racism and Harassment

• 👮 Officer Andrew Hong, who joined the Glendora Police Department in 2023, alleges he faced racial harassment from high-ranking supervisors.
• 🍣 One incident involved a lieutenant telling him to "get back in the kitchen and cook" because he is Asian during an end-of-deployment dinner.
• ⚠️ Officer Hong highlights the irony and wrongfulness of such comments, especially given Glendora's growing Asian-American population.

Claims of Arrest Quotas

• 📈 Officer Hong also reported directives to increase arrest numbers, with messages from the police officers association president urging officers to reach 1,700 arrests per year.
• 🦗 Messages like "The jail sure is empty and those crickets are getting loud" were sent to officers, implying pressure to make more arrests.
• 🚨 The officer argues that pressure to meet quotas can lead to corruption and unethical stops or arrests.

Retaliation and Investigations

• 🚫 After reporting the harassment, Officer Hong claims the department did not protect him; instead, his complaint was exposed, and he became the target of three separate investigations.
• 📄 His attorneys argue that supervisors involved in the discrimination also oversaw the investigations, suggesting a retaliatory motive to build a case for termination.
• ⚖️ Officer Hong was placed on administrative leave amidst these allegations.

Lack of Response

• 🏢 FOX 11 LA reached out to the Glendora Police Department and the city of Glendora for comment, but no response was received.