By MES Dispatch staff
The Briefing
• A jury awarded a former Riverside County sheriff’s sergeant more than $2.25 million in a retaliation lawsuit against the county.
• The sergeant, Frank Lodes, alleged he was forced to resign after reporting workplace harassment in 2022.
• Jurors found the Sheriff’s Department threatened an investigation and coerced his resignation in a fast-food parking lot.
• Riverside County denied retaliation, saying an investigation was planned before his complaints.
RIVERSIDE COUNTY, CA — A jury on April 21 awarded former Riverside County Sheriff’s Sergeant Frank Lodes $2.25 million after finding the department retaliated against him for reporting workplace harassment.
Lodes filed the lawsuit in 2023, alleging that after he reported harassment in 2022, superiors threatened to investigate him and pressured him into signing a resignation letter in a fast-food parking lot rather than allowing him to retire.
The jury ordered the county to pay about $1.25 million for past emotional distress and $1 million for future emotional distress, his attorney said.
According to court filings, the department initially planned to investigate Lodes but dropped the probe after he resigned. County attorneys argued that any actions were outside the scope of deputies’ authority and denied retaliating.
Lodes had been a senior sergeant responsible for training new sergeants. His suit cited incidents including derogatory comments from a superior and offensive flyers placed around the station.