In August 2014, plaintiff Andrew Rodriguez, 33, a sheriff’s deputy trainee at the city of Industry’s sheriff’s station, allegedly began to orally report illegal stops and arrests to a training sergeant. Rodriguez claimed that the station captain refused to investigate the deputies alleged to have engaged in the misconduct and, instead, began a campaign of retaliation and harassment against him. Rodriguez sued Los Angeles County, erroneously identified in court filings as the County of Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department. Rodriguez alleged that the actions of the station captain and other members of the sheriff’s department constituted retaliation and harassment in violation of the Fair Employment and Housing Act and that the county was liable for their actions. Plaintiff’s counsel contended that instead of the investigating the alleged illegal stops and arrests, the station caption retaliated against Rodriguez by initiating three internal-affairs investigations against him and by forging documents that claimed that Rodriguez threatened to shoot a suspect and then say the suspect had a gun. According to plaintiff’s counsel, several high-ranking members of the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department covered up the allegations and perjured themselves on the stand. Counsel further contended that the department failed to abide by its own policies regarding documentation and that several documents were found to have allegedly been forged or otherwise altered in violation of department policy. Defense counsel contended that Rodriguez was performing poorly in patrol training and was placed into remedial training in order to improve his deficiencies. Counsel also contended that Rodriguez was ultimately removed from patrol training for 18 instances of “integrity issues,” or untruthfulness, and argued that Rodriguez fabricated the allegations of unlawful stops years later. Counsel further argued that Rodriguez failed to document the purported unlawful stops and that the written evidence showed that no illegal stops described by Rodriguez had in fact occurred. In addition, defense counsel argued that Rodriguez admitted to the misconduct underlying the investigations and that there was no relationship between the investigations and Rodriguez’s earlier poor performance in patrol training., Rodriguez claimed that he developed hypertension and gastrointestinal complications as a result of the incidents. He required gastrointestinal surgery. Rodriguez also claimed that he suffered emotional distress as a result of the incidents. He claimed that as a result, he had to make a career change. Rodriguez sought recovery for three years of past lost earnings and for 28 years of 50 percent salary to compensate him for having to make a career change. He also sought recovery of damages for his past and future physical and emotional pain and suffering. Defense counsel contended that Rodriguez’s surgery was actually a hemorrhoid banding procedure.