CALIFORNIA CITY, Calif. (KERO) — California City's public safety director has filed a lawsuit against the city, alleging workplace violations and claiming city officials were caught on tape plotting to terminate his employment.
Attorney Steven Haney, who represents Public Safety Director Justin Vincent, says he has audio evidence of Mayor Marquette Hawkins and Councilman Ron Smith conspiring to fire his client.
"From my perspective and I've been practicing law for 40 years, this is probably one of the most dysfunctional city governments I've ever seen," Haney said.
Vincent currently serves as public safety director in charge of the police and fire departments for California City. According to Haney, the recorded conversation between the mayor and councilman took place in December.
"These were pretty easy allegations to make because we have them on an audio tape between Mayor Hawkins and councilman Smith where the two of them are plotting to terminate the five-year written employment contract of the chief of police Justin Vincent," Haney said.
The lawsuit quotes Mayor Hawkins allegedly saying in the recording: "It's almost like I wanna just fire Vincent and say sue us." The mayor reportedly later added: "What I'm thinking is we tell him sue us. We litigate that out three years. Even if he wins appeal it for another three. What is he doing in the meantime? He ain't working."
This isn't Vincent's first legal battle with California City. In 2017, he worked as fire chief before being fired. He sued for wrongful termination in that case but lost. Despite this history, the city hired him again in 2024 and eventually appointed him as public safety director, a position he currently holds.
Vincent also has an ongoing lawsuit against Cambria for wrongful termination last year. When asked about this previous litigation, Haney responded: "It really didn't play into our decision making process. We spoke to Chief Vincent about that."
Mayor Hawkins declined to comment on the lawsuit when I reached out.
The lawsuit also claims City Manager Christopher Lopez called on the Kern County Sheriff's Office to investigate Vincent and later to find a replacement for him. When contacted, the Kern County Sheriff's Office referred me back to California City, which is not commenting on the matter.
This story was reported by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
Stay in Touch with Us Anytime, Anywhere:
