CITY HALL — A city commission has blocked the promotion of a Burbank Police lieutenant because he was named in an FBI probe into excessive force allegations.
The Civil Service Board Oct. 7 denied the proposed promotion of Lt. Armen Dermenjian, whose records were subpoenaed by the U.S. Attorney’s Office as part of an investigation into alleged police misconduct.
The promotion was to last from Oct. 28 to Jan. 28, pending the return of Capt. Bill Taylor, who is on extended medical leave.
Taylor last month filed a civil lawsuit against the city, claiming he was unfairly demoted from his post as deputy chief after he tried to compel the command staff to address a series of complaints.
The denial represents the first time in recent memory that a city employee has had their provisional appointment blocked by the Civil Service Board, and comes as the Police Department continues to grapple with a stack of civil rights lawsuits and investigations by the FBI and Los Angeles County sheriff. .
It also means the department will be short-staffed at the captain level for at least one week, Police Chief Tim Stehr said.
But Management Services Director Judie Wilke said the board overreached in blocking the promotion, and planned to bring the matter back for reconsideration Nov. 4.
“In retrospect, I should have stopped them,” she said.
Among the board’s duties is reviewing job specifications and serving as a recommending body to the council, acting in an advisory capacity to the city manager on problems concerning personnel and the ability to examine witnesses under oath.
“What they are supposed to be looking at is ensuring that the city is not acting improperly. They are supposed to be protecting the integrity of the civil service position,” Wilke said.
Stehr intitially appointed Dermenjian to acting captain July 28, but employees must then go before the board in a process designed to ensure they are not taken advantage of by being kept in temporary positions for long periods of time.
In arriving at the unanimous decision to reject the three-month appointment, board members contended that it would be premature to approve the nomination of an officer whose records had been subpoenaed.
“There is so much controversy over the Police Department right now,” board member Mary Lou Howard said. “I just don’t think it’s a good idea to appoint someone into that position who may be gone next week or two weeks from now.”
Dermenjian, a third-year lieutenant who’s managed the investigative division for the last two years, said the city manager and police chief would not have supported a decision to increase his responsibility if he were to be gone in two weeks.
“It’s not up to the board whether I’ll be around in two weeks, it’s up to the chief,” Dermenjian said Wednesday. “My concern is that the Civil Service Board is supposed to make their decisions based on fact and not prejudge the situation.”
Board members recommended that the vacant captain position be rotated until it was permanently filled.
Stehr on Wednesday said the outcome of hearing would have turned out differently had someone from the police command staff or union been present to answer questions. “Armen’s been doing a phenomenal job during this rough time,” Stehr said.
