Go green on St. Pat’s WEEKEND | 21 MARCH 11, 2016 VOLUME 24, NO. 7
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MOVIES | 24
Police chief named in sexual harassment lawsuit CITY DENIES ALLEGATIONS BUT SAYS MVPD WILL UNDERGO TRAINING By Mark Noack
A
MAGALI GAUTHIER
Steve and Teresa Peters read a bedtime story to their young daughters Evelyn and Elena in a makeshift bed in the back of their SUV at St. Timothy’s Church on March 4. About a dozen parishioners volunteered to spend the stormy night in their cars to build empathy for Mountain View’s homeless population.
Car-dwelling homeless inspire church copycats PARKING LOT CAMPSITE MEANT TO HIGHLIGHT HOMELESS HARDSHIPS By Mark Noack
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heir apartment was just a short drive away, but on Friday evening Steve and Teresa Peters decided not to go home. The husband and wife — both engineers — packed their two daughters, 3-year-old
Elena, and 16-month-old Evelyn, in the family SUV and they headed to the parking lot of St. Timothy’s Episcopal Church in Mountain View. That’s where, to get a feeling for what the city’s homeless face, they were going to spend the night. That March 4 evening, they
weren’t alone. Inspired by the recent rise in people living out of their cars on Mountain View’s streets, about a dozen members of the St. Timothy’s congregation were undertaking a sort of weekend-long vow See CAR CAMPERS, page 12
Two more join crowded Assembly race COUNCILMAN JOHN INKS, PALO ALTO RESIDENT SEEK TO REPLACE RICH GORDON By Mark Noack
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hrowing a twist into an already lively election, two more candidates have announced they will join the crowded contest for Rich Gordon’s state Assembly seat, bringing the total to nine. They are Mountain View Councilman John Inks and Palo Alto community volunteer Jay Blas Jacob Cabrera. On Monday morning, Inks
INSIDE
John Inks
Jay Cabrera
told the Voice his decision to run was somewhat improvised, but he was encouraged by his supporters to consider it. They
convinced him the large candidate pool for this election presented a rare opportunity for a third-party politician — Inks is Libertarian — to make a strong showing, he said. “It’s a strong competitive field, and I won’t know how I can do unless I actually tried,” Inks said. “My success in Mountain View has always been tied to appealing to multiple party affiliations — See ASSEMBLY, page 15
VIEWPOINT 18 | GOINGS ON 25 | MARKETPLACE 30 | REAL ESTATE 32
civil lawsuit filed Monday is taking aim at the Mountain View Police Department, alleging that a culture of sexual harassment pervades the organization, including at its highest ranks. The suit, filed by a current police dispatcher, alleges that police Chief Max Bosel and other officials encouraged conduct including lewd jokes, nudity and simulated sexual acts, and then retaliated against her when she complained. Chief City Manager Max Bosel Dan Rich has categorically denied the allegations; however, he noted in an open letter posted to the city’s website Tuesday that an independent investigation determined that some police employees had previously engaged in unspecified behavior “that was inconsistent with the standards we expect.” The plaintiff, 38-year-old Annie Lohman, has worked for the city police as a dispatcher since 2003. Starting in 2005, when she joined the department’s SWAT team, Lohman alleges, she was repeatedly exposed to lewd banter, nudity and other sexually-charged behavior. Bosel, the SWAT team’s commanding officer at the time, did nothing to stop this behavior, and instead he encouraged it, according to the lawsuit. Lohman alleges Bosel personally made unwanted sexual advances toward her. After she entered a relationship with another police employee, Lohman says, she began making
a concerted effort to resist the unwanted behavior from other officers. At that point, she alleges, police officials began retaliating by putting extra pressure on her in an effort to get her to leave. Her suit notes she was subjected to “meritless” investigations that never revealed any misconduct, and her direct superiors added a paper trail of disciplinary memos to her personnel file at Bosel’s request. Bosel was promoted to police captain in 2007 and was chosen to head the department as chief in 2014. Lohman’s lawsuit notes that she was placed on administrative leave around February 2015, not long after Bosel rose to the top position. She was willing to return to work, but she eventually learned she could resume her job only if she accepted a demotion to another division and completed a training program, according to the suit. Over the last year, Lohman said, she exhausted other administrative avenues to seek redress. She filed complaints with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing, her complaint states. She also filed a worker’s compensation claim for hearing impairment. It is not immediately clear what response those complaints received, but those actions cleared the way for filing a formal lawsuit against the city of Mountain View. San Jose attorney James McManis, who is representing Lohman, pointed out that at this time, only Bosel is being identified as a defendant. However, See LAWSUIT, page 12