LONG BEACH : Fired Police Chief Sues, Calls Dismissal Political
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Saying he was “politically assassinated,” fired Long Beach Police Chief Lawrence Binkley has filed a lawsuit against top city and police authorities, asserting that he was terminated in retaliation for investigating elected and appointed officials.
In his lawsuit, filed in federal court Tuesday, Binkley said he was fired in January in retaliation for his investigations of several officials, his disciplining of certain officers and his public statements involving the department and city officials, among other things.
In an interview Thursday, Binkley said the investigations involved allegations of “theft of city property, bookmaking, narcotics, prostitution, case-fixing and destruction of arrest records.” City officials have criticized the investigations as smacking of McCarthyism.
Assistant City Atty. Robert Shannon said he was unaware of the lawsuit and could not comment.
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