A former SAPD employee’s discrimination and retaliation case was not successful

The City of Santa Ana has prevailed in an employment discrimination and retaliation lawsuit filed by a former police department employee in 2019.

On Tuesday, April 9, an Orange County Superior Court jury found in favor of the City on all five claims filed by Heather Heider, a former Santa Ana Police Department Forensic Services Supervisor, in an action filed in Orange County Superior Court on March 4, 2019, before the Honorable Judge David J. Hesseltine (Case No. 30-2019-01055281-CU-OE-CJC.)

The jury found that Ms. Heider did not face, nor did the City fail to prevent, discrimination or retaliation. The jury additionally rejected Ms. Heider’s claim that she was wrongfully discharged from the City.

The case centered on an SAPD employee named Mark Waldo, who was an SAPD Lead Forensic Specialist. Heider alleged that he was creating false complaints about her which she was admittedly never advised about, for which Plaintiff was admittedly never interviewed and which were admittedly wrongfully utilized by Defendant as a “reason” for the retaliatory bifurcation of her Supervisor position in contravention of both Defendant’s own policies and procedures and applicable California law.

Heider also alleged that Waldo had knowingly falsified a signature within at least thee police reports. Apparently he was reprimanded for this. He left the SAPD in 2019.

While the City of Santa Ana is crowing about the outcome of the case it doesn’t mean that Heider was off base. It just means the jury didn’t buy the evidence. The City of Santa Ana should be embarrassed about the shenanigans at the SAPD.

Heider was highly respected during her time at the SAPD and continues to work as an investigative manager for a company named TNG.