Former Porterville Police Officers, Ana Isabel Moreno and Anthony Luckey, have filed suit in federal court against their former employer, alleging sexual harassment, retaliation, racial discrimination, and violations of their constitutional rights. The cases, which name both the City of Porterville and Police Lieutenant Bruce Sokoloff as the primary defendants, have drawn increasing attention in the local community as they make their way through the United States District Court for the Eastern District of California, Fresno Division.
Both plaintiffs are being represented by Lawrence J. King, Esq, Law Offices of Lawrence J. King of Petaluma.
The suits, filed in November of 2024, center around allegations of misconduct by Lieutenant Sokoloff and the City’s handling of internal complaints. The filings paint a picture of serious racial and sexual discrimination inside the Porterville Police Department and raises questions about how the city manages complaints of retaliation against fellow officers.
In a statement provided by email, the City of Porterville wrote: “The City of Porterville is aware of the lawsuit filed by former employees. While we cannot comment on the specifics of pending litigation, the City takes these matters seriously and will respond through the appropriate legal process. We remain committed to serving our community and supporting our employees as this legal process moves forward.”
The Attorney representing the plaintiffs was also contacted, but did not respond.
Moreno v. City of Porterville & Sokoloff
Moreno’s case alleges the sexual harassment stems from the police department and the City of Porterville’s administration’s “boys club” culture.
The suit states, “The Porterville Police Department (“PPD”) and the City of Porterville have a significant problem that they bitterly refuse to acknowledge and correct. The highest rungs of PPD leadership are composed of a ‘boys’ club’ of male officers, including current Chief Jake Castellow, who have for years violated the rights of the female police officers, violated the rights of male officers who spoke up for those female officers, and even violated the rights of female citizens. When these female officers or their male allies have spoken up, formally or informally, men like Chief Castellow and Assistant Chief Dominic Barteau and numerous others have rallied around the violators and orchestrated the firing of the complainants and the ruining of their careers.”
Moreno joined the Porterville Police Department in 2019 and was assigned Sgt. E. Martinez as her direct supervisor. On several occasions, Sgt. Martinez became angry and would yell at her for unwarranted reasons just to humiliate her in front of the other officers according to the suit.
“She noticed her fellow male officers did not receive public ‘dressing-downs’ from Sgt. Martinez” and the suit says “Martinez would later come to Plaintiff privately and say he had “over-reacted.”
But Martinez’ pattern of yelling at and insulting Moreno in front of her co-workers continued while he refrained from criticizing the male co-workers in front of other employees, the suit alleges.
“On December 15, 2019, while attending a social gathering at a fellow PPD officer’s house with her children, Plaintiff was met outside by Sgt. Martinez. Sgt. Martinez appeared to be intoxicated. He addressed Plaintiff and said that if he told her: ‘So if I say do this, it means you just do it. And if I say ‘Let’s fuck,’ it means let’s fuck.'”
Corporal Enrique Lara was her other supervisor and Moreno alleges that Lara initially was openly hostile to her. “He would ignore her when she asked him a question, acting as though she was not speaking to him, and then walk away. Plaintiff never saw Cpl. Lara ignore male officers when they spoke to him. As with Sgt. Martinez, Plaintiff did not initially understand why Cpl. Lara treated her this way, in a manner that he did not treat similarly situated male officers.”
The suit continues, “Later, on or around May 14, 2021, Cpl. Lara sent Plaintiff a disturbing and repulsive video of himself naked from the waist up, drinking a beer, and asking her to come to his residence to swim alone with him. Plaintiff declined.”
In March of 2020 Moreno was assigned Sokoloff as her supervising officer and initially regarded him as a mentor before, she alleges, he began sending her inappropriate text messages and making unwanted sexual advances.
Moreno recounts in her Third Amended Complaint a disturbing series of encounters that included demeaning comments and inappropriate texts, “including harassing her via text over the course of five days to have drinks alone with him, and then harassing her repeatedly over the course of four days to go away with him alone while his wife and children were out of town.”
Moreno claims that when she rebuffed Sokoloff’s advances, he shifted his behavior toward punitive actions and began to criticize her work, write her up for alleged policy violations, and interfere with her approved vacation time.
Moreno further contends that after she began dating Luckey, Sokoloff intensified his scrutiny of her, placing her in what she describes as dangerous or humiliating assignments, eventually threatening her with termination.
In one specific instance, Moreno alleges that Sokoloff ordered her to transport a transient with mental health issues who was exposing himself, despite obvious safety concerns, and later boasted and laughed about the incident to other officers.
In August of 2021 Sokoloff messaged Plaintiff to tell her that he was being promoted from Sergeant to Lieutenant. Corporal Lara had also been promoted to Sergeant by this time.
On September 30, 2021, Officer Luckey was terminated as the result of an Internal Affairs investigation initiated and conducted by Sokoloff.
According to the suit, on September 31, 2021, Sokoloff, came in on his day and ordered Moreno to meet with him. He informed her that he had initiated and conducted the Internal Affairs investigation that resulted in Officer Luckey’s termination. “Sokoloff told Plaintiff that Department administrators were now keeping an eye on her; that she would be under scrutiny for possible negative responses to Officer Luckey’s termination.”
By early 2022, Moreno claims, the harassment and retaliatory actions created working conditions that forced her to resign.
She was allegedly not the only female officer harassed by Porterville’s male police officers.
Her suit states, “The Porterville Police Department’s problem is its widespread practice of supporting, retaining, and promoting male officers who sexualize, demean, harass, taunt, and bully female officers with no repercussions or discipline, while unlawfully terminating or forcing out anyone who complains.”
“In 2020, four female officers filed grievances with the City of Porterville alleging sexual harassment, discrimination, and retaliation,” the suit claims. “Those women have claimed that there are many more female officers currently employed by PPD who are suffering but too scared to come forward because they have witnessed what happens to the women who do.”
In another case of discrimination the suit alleges, “in 2022, the City Council unanimously upheld the termination by PPD of a female officer who had made a formal complaint that she was being sexually harassed by a PPD sergeant. The official reason given by PPD for her firing according to news reports was her alleged lying about her ‘use of a personal vehicle when traveling to Sacramento to go through basic traffic collision training.’”
Luckey v. City of Porterville & Sokoloff
Luckey, who started work for the Porterville Police Department beginning in 2020, states in his suit that he was terminated in 2021 after what he says was a retaliatory action orchestrated by Sokoloff.
Luckey, who identifies as African-American, alleges that his termination was racially motivated and compounded by his romantic relationship with Officer Moreno,
According to the court filings, Luckey believes that Sokoloff targeted both him and Moreno once he became aware of their relationship and cohabitation.
Specifically, Luckey says that Sokoloff “violated his right to associate with a member of another race” and that he disapproved of interracial relationships between Black males and White women. Luckey further alleges that Sokoloff believes in a White Supremacist ideology regarding racial and ethnic purity, which he disclosed to Officer Moreno on several occasions.
Luckey is convinced that Sokoloff engineered false accusations against him to justify his termination, arguing that the discipline he received was inconsistent with how his White colleagues were treated in comparison. Luckey claims that the city failed to effectively intervene and correct Sokoloff’s threatening behavior, letting him off the hook, with no accountability or recourse.”
The City of Porterville has denied any wrongdoing in the matter, countering that Luckey was terminated for legitimate performance-related reasons. Attorneys representing the city have asked the court to dismiss or limit claims because they allege that Luckey failed to provide facts and sufficient evidence to demonstrate discrimination or retaliation, using identical language as in the Moreno case.
Motions for Dismissal and Oppositions
The legal back-and-forth has been extensive in both Moreno’s and Luckey’s cases. In Moreno’s matter, the city’s motion to dismiss asserts that her Title VII and FEHA sex discrimination claims fail to meet the mark.
Moreno’s opposition disputes these arguments. She maintains that her complaint clearly alleges harassment severe enough to alter her working conditions, that the city is attempting to hold her to a higher pleading standard than required, and that her retaliation claims include specific acts such as cancellation of vacation time and initiation of internal affairs investigations.
She also disputes the city’s position on municipal liability, asserting that the City retained authority over Sokoloff’s decisions and can be held accountable for failing to prevent misconduct.
Luckey’s case has also been met with efforts by the city to limit or dismiss claims on grounds of insufficient pleading. While the specifics of those filings have not been as publicly detailed as Moreno’s, the city has consistently maintained that Luckey’s allegations are not adequately supported. Luckey, on the other hand, continues to argue that his firing was the product of retaliation and racial discrimination tied directly to his relationship with Moreno and his willingness to challenge unfair treatment within the department.
The next hearing will be October 22, 2025, at 9:00 AM in Courtroom 8 before Magistrate Judge Barbara A. McAuliffe.