In May 2015, plaintiffs David Dooros and Elliot Zibli, both in their 50s, and plaintiff Ricardo Sanchez, all bloodhound handlers with the Los Angeles Police Department, went to various supervisors to complain about a sergeant who was recently put in charge of the bloodhound unit. They alleged that the sergeant was falsifying his overtime claims and acting inappropriately toward their colleague, plaintiff Karolin Clarke, an LAPD bloodhound handler in her 40s. Dooros, Zibli, Sanchez and Clarke claimed that after they complained about the sexual harassment, they were retaliated against. Dooros, Zibli, Sanchez and Clarke sued the city of Los Angeles, alleging whistleblower retaliation. Clarke also alleged sexual harassment. Sanchez voluntarily dismissed his case without prejudice, and Clarke settled out of the case. The matter continued with Dooros and Zibli’s claims against the city. Dooros and Zibli claimed that the sergeant who was put in charge of the bloodhound unit sexually harassed Clarke by making inappropriate comments, massaging Clarke’s shoulders and pressing his body up against Clarke. They claimed that they went to management to complain about the harassment and the sergeant falsifying his overtime claims, but that instead of taking corrective action, the city denied them additional training, and refused to give them adequate weapons and backup officer support during searches. Zibli claimed that because of stress related to the retaliation, he was forced to retire early, in July 2017. While Dooros was still with the police department, he claimed that the conditions became so bad for him that he entered a program in July 2016 that would allow him to retire earlier than he originally planned. However, they noted that the sergeant was transferred to the internal affairs group, the division that investigates officer misconduct, and was still with the police department. The city asserted that no retaliation occurred and that neither Dooros nor Zibli suffered any damages. It contended that the LAPD acted with legitimate, business reasons in the interest of implementing measures to improve accountability and effectiveness of the entire canine unit, which included both narcotics and bloodhound scent dogs., Dooros was a dog handler since 1998 and switched from narcotics animals to bloodhounds in August 2015. While he is still with the LAPD, he claimed that he will formally retire earlier than he would have otherwise. Zibli first began working with police dogs in 1998 and became a bloodhound handler in 2015. He claimed he resigned in July 2017 because he was concerned about his health and safety. Dooros and Zibli sought recovery of economic and non-economic damages.