The Fresno law enforcement career of Amya Brooks lasted two years at age 23.

Brooks is now suing the city of Fresno, accusing the Fresno Police Department of creating a hostile work environment and discrimination.

In a lawsuit filed last week in Fresno County Superior Court, Brooks said her training caused a hostile work environment, she was placed in dangerous situations, and she received unwanted comments during her time on the force.

She also said the department exploited her race and gender — Brooks is a Black female — for public relations purposes, making her feel like “a token.”

Los Angeles attorneys Nick Yasman, Ronald Zambrano, Neama Rahmani, and Moran Ruiz of West Coat Employment Lawyers represent Brooks.

“Ms. Brooks just wanted a chance to live out her dream of being a police officer free from such egregious abuse and harassment but, unfortunately, she chose the wrong department,” Yasman told GV Wire. “The Fresno Police Department is currently a cesspool of disgusting behavior from the top down that no employee should be subjected to under any circumstances.”

The police department referred any comment to the City Attorney’s Office, which did not respond to GV Wire’s request for a statement.

A case management conference is scheduled for Nov. 12 in front of Court Commissioner Daniel Brickey.

The lawsuit also lists Brooks’ training officer, Cpl. Gerald Sepeda, as a defendant. The lawsuit alleges 10 different complaints some of which are hostile work environment, failure to accommodate, and discrimination.

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Training Day

Brooks joined the department out of the police academy in May 2022, at 21 years of age.

Within a month of being hired, Brooks alleges in her 43-page lawsuit, that senior Black officers warned her not to expect any special treatment because of her race and gender, and that “Black females have a bad reputation in this department.”

She told Sgt. Katrina Lloyd, another Black female, about the comments and how it “made her feel alienated, scared for the future of her employment, and pressured to quit the job just one month in.” The lawsuit alleges that Lloyd said she went through similar experiences.

The department promoted Brooks from cadet to officer in August 2022. She began training with Cpl. Sepeda in May 2023. A comment Sepeda allegedly made early in training offended Brooks.

While on a call for a disturbance at a McDonald’s, Sepeda allegedly said, “Another angry Black bitch — you can deal with this one.”

Brooks says she reported the remark to three officers, who allegedly told her not to report the complaint or escalate the situation. The officers allegedly did not report the incident to others in the chain of command.

Sepeda later made an alleged crude remark about servers at a coffee shop. Again Brooks reported the statement to others, who allegedly told her “That’s just how this department is.” The lawsuit alleges that the officers made no report of the incident.

Another time Sepeda is alleged to have said another officer may like Brooks because she had a “nice, petite, ebony booty,” but she had a “dry personality” and she needs to put on an act because she is a cop.

The lawsuit describes several other uncomfortable conversations and language allegedly involving Sepeda. There are no allegations that Sepeda (or others) used racial epithets or sexist language harsher than “bitch.”

After one admonishment from Sepeda, Brooks said that she returned to the station and cried. She reported to a sergeant about Sepeda’s “numerous instances of hostility, harassment, and misconduct.” The sergeant allegedly told her “you should be used to it,” and eventually sent her home for the day.

Her complaints to other officers and sergeants got to the point where they told her to watch herself because her job was on the line. Again, her complaints were not reported to others, the lawsuit states.

Brooks alleged an internal affairs complaint had been filed against her for insubordination. Nothing ever resulted from the investigation, according to the lawsuit.

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Assigned a Solo Shift, Trouble Brews

After training, the department assigned Brooks to the midnight shift in the southwest district — considered one of the more dangerous areas to patrol. Brooks started her new assignment in October 2023 alone.

“Brooks was not assigned a partner for the midnight shift. When Brooks requested a partner, Officer (Loren) Kasten told Brooks that she can’t have a partner because she is ‘new.’ Brooks was the only Officer on the midnight shift in the Southwest District who was not given a partner despite many others being equally ‘new,'” the lawsuit stated.

Four days into her new patrol, she saw a group of 150 people leaving the Mezcal Lounge around 2 in the morning, in downtown Fresno. She parked her car in the parking lot, turned off her headlights, and turned on a set of lights ” to announce her presence to the crowd while simultaneously avoiding drawing excessive attention.”

The large group then split in two on each side of the car, shooting guns at each other, the lawsuit said. Brooks called the incident to dispatch.

Although she drew her weapon while still in the car, “Brooks ultimately decided not to shoot into either large crowd of mostly unarmed civilians in accordance with her training, and because it was the obvious, commonsense decision to avoid a reckless escalation of violence and death,” the lawsuit said.

Brooks estimated she was in the crossfire for up to 45 seconds. Other officers responded moments later, and the crowd dispersed. News reports at the time said two people were arrested.

When Brooks filled out her report on the incident, she alleged that her supervisor, Sgt. Marissa Jackson edited the report to indicate the group grew agitated, one of the suspects had dreadlocks, and Brooks activated her body camera. Brooks objected to those additions to no avail, the lawsuit stated.

Then-Chief Paco Balderrama called Brooks, commending her for not firing her weapon, according to the lawsuit.

Incident Caused PTSD

The Mezcal Lounge incident took a toll on her, Brooks said. Sgt. Jackson allegedly replied when told, “You have to be strong to do this job. You should put in your two-weeks, but send it to the department, not the City.”

Brooks said the department denied her request for a partner.

When seeking medical treatment for PTSD she said was the result of the incident, she was denied twice for leave from doctors, before finally being granted leave in six-week increments.

In her treatment, she told a doctor that other “sergeants and corporals were mad because I didn’t use deadly force to shoot people without even thinking about it. In my mind, I know I did the right thing.”

Brooks returned to work in February 2024 for partial duty, and eventually to regular duty a month later.

The lawsuit also described two alleged incidents of unwanted attention from male officers — one sending an unsolicited photo of him flexing, and one talking to her as she tried to leave in her car.

Fresno police also opened up an internal investigation into the Mezcal Lounge incident, alleging Brooks failed to use her headlights, activate her body camera, provided false information in her report, and exercised poor discretion for not shooting.

Brooks once again saw a doctor, who placed her on temporary total disability.

Brooks resigned on June 14, 2024, “citing her reasonable and good faith belief that returning to her working conditions at the Department would be intolerable.”

Felt Like a Token

The lawsuit said the department ordered Brooks to attend certain community events — such as a church block party in July 2022 — “to showcase the department’s racial ‘diversity’ for the news cameras.”

The department posted pictures of Brooks, then-Chief Paco Balderrama and others at the event at St. Rest Baptist Church. After posing for pictures, Brooks said in her lawsuit she “was then told she could leave. Brooks drove home feeling humiliated and exploited for her gender and skin color.”

She also experienced similar feelings after a photo op with Balderrama at a training event, and attended a fitness program for girls run by the Police Athletic League, under department instruction when TV news cameras showed up.

The lawsuit states Brooks was one of only three Black females in the department. A captain allegedly told her the department needed her.

“Brooks was needed to serve as a token minority whom the Department could outwardly showcase to meet diversity initiatives before the eyes of a skeptical public,” the lawsuit said.

Brooks’ attorneys, in a separate discrimination lawsuit, represent former Officer Stacie Szatmari, who is suing for wrongful termination and discrimination.

Read the Brooks Lawsuit