An undated photo of SDPD Captain Martha Sainz and an undated photo of SDPD Headquarters in Downtown San Diego.
A 33-year veteran of the San Diego Police Department filed a lawsuit Thursday against her employer over discipline stemming from a Jan. 26, 2022 incident at her division.
The writ of mandate suit alleges that following the arrest of an alleged "peeping Tom" on Jan. 26, 2022, SDPD Sgt. Anthony Briese allowed the man he detained to make a phone call to his girlfriend.
Capt. Martha Sainz allegedly asked Sgt. Briese why he allowed the phone call. He responded by saying, "Well, God says to be kind and I was being kind," the lawsuit reads.
Sainz then reportedly told Briese, while in the Sainz's office at Southern Division along with SDPD Lt. Ruben Gutierrez, that he should "not let his religion get in the way of a criminal investigation."
Get top local stories in San Diego delivered to you every morning. >Sign up for NBC San Diego's News Headlines newsletter.
Nearly a month later, Briese filed an Equal Employment Opportunity complaint.
Sainz was served with a Notice of Reprimand in February 2023, the lawsuit claims. She appealed the reprimand and on Sept. 15, 2023, her discipline was reduced to only a written warning.
The lawsuit alleges that there were no opportunities for Sainz to appeal the written warning. It also claims and that the written warning was handed down after the one-year statute of limitations. Sainz's lawsuit is seeking to end the record of discipline once and for all.
Local
According to the suit, SDPD Assistant Chief Thomas Underwood told Sainz that the "statute of limitations wasn't violated because the Notice of Reprimand had been served within one year of the date a "superior officer over Captain Sainz discovered the misconduct"."
Sainz claims in the lawsuit that since the Notice of the Reprimand wasn't served until Feb. 9, 2023, which is more than one year after the Jan. 26, 2022 date in which she claims the conduct was "discovered" by the department, no discipline may be imposed.
Sainz requests in the suit that all discipline be dismissed and removed from her personnel records, the court provide a judicial declaration outlining SDPD violated her rights, and payment of lost wages, attorney's fees and costs of filing the lawsuit.
View the current lawsuit here:
Previous Lawsuit
Thursday's filing isn't the first time Sainz has filed a writ of mandate suit against the department in an attempt to squash discipline.
In 2007, while she was a sergeant, Sainz filed suit against the department after she was served a notice of termination following an August 2005 incident at a school safety patrol summer camp on Palomar Mountain.
According to the 2007 suit, two officers were involved in a skit that was reportedly done to mimic Sainz. One officer placed a wet sponge on Sainz's chair before Sainz sat back down. Sainz then picked the sponge up and used it to get the other officer wet.
According to the suit, the female officer who placed the sponge on Sainz's seat received a bruise, allegedly caused by Sainz.
Although not directly involved, a different sergeant - Sainz's predecessor to her then-current position - filed an internal affairs complaint regarding the incident.
"SDPD pursued both an administrative and criminal investigation of Sainz's actions for battery and threats," Sainz's suit alleged, adding, "Internal Affairs investigators filed a crime report against Sainz with the San Diego County Sheriff's Department alleging she committed a criminal battery."
Sainz was served with an advanced notice of termination on Jan. 19. 2006. However, on April 28, 2006, an Assistant Chief issued findings overturning the proposed termination, and additionally found that her conduct did not rise to the level of criminal conduct.
On Sep. 25, 2006, Sainz was issued only a written reprimand for unbecoming conduct. She appealed that discipline both within the department and later with the city's Labor Relations office.
On March 1, 2007, the Labor Relations board upheld the reprimand, exhausting Sainz's options outside of the legal system. Sainz dismissed the suit on June 6, 2007, just sixteen days after it was filed. Sainz was eventually promoted to lieutenant in November 2013.
View the 2007 lawsuit here:
According to public records obtained by NBC 7, Sainz must retire by April 2026, as she is a member of the city's deferred retirement option plan.
NBC 7 requested a statement from SDPD about the lawsuit Friday evening and has not received a response.
