Harvey awarded $1.2M

At 5:45 this morning, Newport Beach Sgt. Neil Harvey said he’d show up to work just like any other day.

“I’m going to go back to work and work,” he said Tuesday.

There will be a difference though, and one you can’t see. Harvey’s claim that years of closed-door whispers that he’s gay, open insubordination by some and retaliation for helping out a fellow, female officer have kept him from being promoted were validated.

Tuesday morning a jury of eight women and four men awarded Harvey $1.2 million after finding that those false rumors coupled with his superiors’ holding him back for helping another officer file a complaint kept Harvey, a 27-year veteran with Newport Beach police, from being promoted to lieutenant. The amount was a calculation of lost wages for missing out on the promotions.

It supports the allegations of several current and former officers, and sergeants testified to during Harvey’s civil trial: The Newport Beach Police Department is a place of the in-crowd and everyone else.

“It was kind of like the big guys against the lower guys,” juror No. 4, who did not want to be identified, told attorneys after the verdict was read. “It was the ‘good ol’ boys’ against the outsider.”

Harvey’s lawyer, Jack Girardi, argued to jurors that the testimony during the trial showed exactly the kind of place Harvey worked in. The lieutenants, captains and chief stick together, and value “loyalty to management over loyalty to the truth,” while the lower-ranking employees were forced to make that choice if they wanted choice assignments.

It was a message that stuck with several of the jurors. Juror No. 6 said the officers and sergeants were more credible witnesses because they “have less to lose.” Nearly all who believed Harvey was singled out in the department told jurors they were uncomfortable testifying because they feared some sort of retaliation.

Jurors said it was Harvey’s assistance to Rachel Hall, now Rachel Van Holt, that seemed to hold the most weight. Harvey testified he helped her file a complaint with the city after she was investigated for a routine incident involving her police work. She testified that she told Harvey she thought her investigation was based solely on her gender, and Harvey helped her from there.

The city’s claim that Harvey was not promoted because he had poor leadership skills and was too nitpicky with grammar and penal code — to the point that his subordinates didn’t respect him — was weak, jurors said.

“I have to do that every day,” juror No. 6 said. “If you have someone with those skills, you exploit that for your benefit.”

“I think he deserved more,” she added.

“I have a feeling the court made the right decision,” said Sgt. Mike James, who testified for Harvey in the trial.

Police Chief John Klein said he doesn’t agree with the verdict, but hopes Harvey and the department can look forward from here.

“The Newport Beach Police Department is a strong, professional department that is appreciated by our citizens and highly respected by other law enforcement agencies. That reputation has been earned by the many talented people in the department who are dedicated to the community,” he said.

He added that he and city leaders will review the decision and see where the department needs changing.

“I hope they do evaluations every year now and don’t tolerate any type of discrimination,” said juror No. 8.

Harvey said he plans to stay on with the department until he retires and is already a candidate for the next round of promotions later this year.

Reporter JOSEPH SERNA may be reached at (714) 966-4619 or at [email protected].