A former investigator for the Kern County Public Defender’s Office claims he was wrongfully terminated because he demanded overtime pay and blew the whistle on a deputy public defender who asked a witness to lie.
“We want the public to know why he was terminated,” said attorney Gabriel Godinez, who filed the suit against the county on behalf of Dave Brown.
The suit claims the Public Defender’s Office retaliated against Brown, because he demanded overtime pay, and more.
“The big one was the whistle-blowing,” said Godinez.
The complaint states that Deputy Public Defender Paul Cadman asked a witness to lie in a criminal case. The witness later told Brown about the incident, and Brown then reported it to his supervisors.
Brown was also under investigation for alleged misuse of a county criminal data base while working for the Public Defender’s Office.
No charges were filed.
Mark Nations with the Kern County Counsel’s Office says he has received a copy of the complaint but has not yet had a chance to review it.
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