Another Folsom police officer is suing the city. Here’s what he’s accusing the department of
A former Folsom police officer is suing the city, alleging he faced racial discrimination and harassment from colleagues based on his Latino heritage.
The lawsuit, filed June 10 in Sacramento Superior Court by former officer Homer Limon, adds to ongoing claims raised against the department. Last year, Limon was also one of three officers named in another lawsuit centered around racism.
“As a result of the unlawful conduct of the defendants, Limon has suffered severe emotional distress, wage loss and loss of benefits, diminution of his lifetime pension benefits and damage to his career,” the lawsuit alleged.
Christine Brainerd, a spokeswoman for the city of Folsom, said in a statement that “the city takes the recent allegations very seriously and is reviewing and addressing the complaints.”
Limon, who was hired in 2003, claims he began experiencing harassment and retaliation after reporting the alleged misconduct of three fellow officers.
The misconduct included online searches for “hot girls,” using department money for sexual favors at massage parlors and driving to the city of Chico to have sex while on duty, according to the lawsuit. Two of the officers — Carl Siegler and Brian Unden — were terminated in 2009, following an investigation into inappropriate contact with college girls in Chico.
The lawsuit alleges the discriminatory behavior toward Limon started around this time.
During police briefings, superiors and officers would mockingly ask Limon to pronounce arrestees’ names, according to the lawsuit. After arrests, Limon would hear comments such as “We just arrested your son on the street” and “Limon, we arrested your people today.”
During his employment, the lawsuit alleges, Limon was one of only four Hispanic officers. About 13% of Folsom’s residents are Latino.
The discriminatory comments persisted for years, the lawsuit alleges.
In another instance, while he was on family leave, Limon says a fellow officer informed him that she saw a stick-figure picture drawn on the whiteboard with a man wearing a sombrero hat and labeled “Limon.”
Limon’s career stalled due to the harassment and retaliation, according to the lawsuit. He ultimately decided to retire without seeing any improvements in the department.
Limon’s attorney, David Foyil, did not respond to a request for comment.
More racist claims against department
Two other officers — Kimberly Moy Lim-Watson and James Dorris — have also reported similar discriminatory claims against the department. Both Watson and Dorris are of Asian descent.
Dorris filed a lawsuit last September, alleging officers put “anti-Asian and racially offensive” stickers on his locker, made comments about his slanted eyes and mimicked an Asian accent.
In Limon’s lawsuit, he claims to have witnessed Dorris and Watson receiving comments regarding their race, skin color and slanted eyes. Limon also noted “anti-Asian” stickers that repeatedly appeared on Dorris’ locker.
The city of Folsom maintains Dorris’ lawsuit is “retaliatory” after he was fired in January 2022 for using racist language and allegedly engaging in sexual activity while on duty. The city’s decision was approved by an independent arbitrator, who concluded Dorris should be let go for sending racist texts and lying during the investigation.
Lim-Watson, who is still employed with the department, has not filed a lawsuit.
None of the three officers named in the lawsuits could be reached for comment.
