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| | Former U.S. Marine And City Of Pomona Police Officer Terrorizes Pomona Human Resources And Workers' Compensation Claims Departments. Permanent Restraining Order Affirmed After Claimant's Appeal.
By Lonce LaMon - October 24, 2012
A City of Pomona policeman tried to overturn on appeal a permanent restraining order against him, barring him from entering the Pomona workers’ compensation claims department and the human resources department. However, just last Friday, October 19th, 2012, the Court of Appeals of the state of California affirmed the order from the Superior Court of Los Angeles County granting the permanent injunction against officer Leonard Heiselt.
The City of Pomona, which is self-insured and self-administered for workers’ compensation, has a work comp claims department which is adjoined to human resources, at Pomona’s city hall at 505 So. Garey Avenue in the City of Pomona, California.
The claimant, Leonard Heiselt, sustained injuries to both his shoulders, left bicep, and
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He said to the human resources director at that time over the phone something to the effect of, "Do I have to cock my gun?"... |
left elbow during the course of his employment in March of 2009. Patricia Whitfield, veteran workers’ compensation claims adjuster for the City of Pomona, had been handling Leonard Heiselt’s claim. The City of Pomona’s risk manager, to whom Pat Whitfield reports, is Chris Millard.
Starting about a year after his injury, Heiselt, who was represented by an attorney, started calling the claims office and ranting and raving about his claim. He said to the human resources director at that time over the phone something to the effect of, “Do I have to cock my gun?” or “My gun is cocked.”
Interestingly, Leonard Heiselt is a veteran United States Marine who was with the Marines for 21 years. He began his employment as a police officer for the City of Pomona in February of 2002. After his occupational injury in March of 2009, by September of 2010, his sergeant told him that the police department could not reasonably accommodate his work restrictions any longer.
But in June of 2010, in spite of the fact he was represented by counsel, he insisted on going to Patricia Whitfield’s office in order to address some medical expenses for which he believed he should be reimbursed. Pat allowed him to come back to her office. Thus, Heiselt told Pat that he had just wasted three hours of his day, that she was inept and incompetent, she could not think outside of the box, and that she could have phoned his physician to get the information she needed.
A witness testified that Heiselt yelled at Pat while boasting of how he knew workers’ comp law. Within her very small office, about three feet from her, he kept yelling and yelling while telling her she did not know what she was doing and that he demanded answers. Pat told Heiselt he needed to calm down and that he needed to work with his attorney because he had litigated. She insisted that he sit down and he simply yelled back by using the f-word: “I’m not going to f------ sit down! I don’t have to!”
A witness described the incident as very scary, very intimidating, and stated that she was extremely concerned for Patricia Whitfield’s safety. Thus, this witness fetched Chris Millard, the risk manager, and so
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A witness... testified that Heiselt demanded to know why employees... were calling his home and inquiring about his and his wife's sex life. |
Chris went into Pat’s office and saw Leonard Heiselt leaning forward and talking in a very loud voice. Chris asked the claimant to calm down but Heiselt continued to yell until Chris demanded that he leave. Heiselt then left by storming out.
In December of 2010, Heiselt went to see Pat Whitfield again but she refused to see him. Heiselt then appealed to Susan Paul, the new City of Pomona human resources risk management director, who later testified that Patricia Whitfield said she was afraid to talk to Heiselt. Susan Paul also testified that Heiselt told her he had “gotten in [Pat Whitfield’s] face” because he “had issues” with her; he expressed that he’s into “getting into people’s faces” because that’s the way he gets things done.
In February of 2011, Leonard Heiselt went to Chris Millard’s office, and when Chris attempted to greet Heiselt by shaking his hand, Heiselt refused by telling Chris he is not his friend. Heiselt insisted in knowing why Chris Millard had called him a few months prior, but Chris only vaguely remembered calling him since a couple of months, at least, had transpired.
The claimant left Chris’s office but then reappeared about two minutes later. He then screamed at Chris and stated he wanted to know why in the f---- Chris had called him back in December but had not left a message. Heiselt wanted to know if he was going to be retired or if a new position was going to be created for him. He was referring to his industrial disability retirement. Chris then told him that if he wanted a retirement he had to hire an attorney.
Leonard Heiselt, left, with a fellow City of Pomona police officer.
All this time Heiselt was screaming and cussing and using the f-word. Chris Millard testified that Heiselt said, “I’m tired of this f------ bullshit around here,” and that “I want answers. I have given my life for this department and for my country, and I get no f------- respect around here."
Leonard Heiselt sounds like an ex-Marine with a major case of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder who needs major treatment for PTSD. He even went on to ask Chris Millard why his department wanted to know about his sex life with his wife. Chris responded with a very perplexed huh? what? kind of reaction.
A witness overhearing this conversation testified that Heiselt demanded to know why employees of the department were calling his home and inquiring about his and his wife’s sex life. This same witness testified that she thought at this point the claimant was delusional.
She went on to testify that the claimant continued to scream and flail his arms and that “he flipped”. The claimant screamed, “I want f------ answers and I want to be treated with f------ respect around here!” When asked to lower his voice, Heiselt even yelled, “No, I will not lower my voice! This is how I get things done! I intimidate people!”
Someone called 9-1-1 and a police officer within the area was fetched. But the claimant went on calling the employees in the department “f----- liars” and yelling things like “shut the f---- up.” He went on…
Chris Millard testified that after this and other incidents with this claimant, he and other department members were afraid to come to
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"... when a peace officer goes into an area and makes demands, uses profanities, makes references to guns, who appears to be obsessed with entitlement... people get frightened like hell... " |
work as they were afraid the claimant would come back. Heiselt had assured everyone that he had various guns. Chris Millard said, “I was afraid and just didn’t want to deal with it any more.”
Two temporary restraining orders were issued before the permanent restraining order, the injunction, was issued by Judge Robert M. Martinez of the Los Angeles Superior Court on May 20, 2011.
Part of what Judge Martinez said at the May 20th 2011 hearing was, “… when a peace officer goes into an area and makes demands, uses profanities, makes references to guns, who appears to be obsessed with entitlement… who is entitled to carry a gun, concealed or otherwise, and who is entrusted with upholding the laws and protecting the citizenry, people get frightened like hell and say, ‘what is going on with this peace officer’?
“You have brought this problem upon yourself, sir… You cause fear that you’re dangerous. And I don’t believe that the H.R. Department or the City Hall has conspired to somehow set you up with accusations that they would go so far as to call 9-1-1 on a police officer and that even one officer, someone that you know, is incapable of calming you and there’s still a need for six or seven more.”
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