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The information may be used in the sexual harassment case against the police chief.
By LEANORA MINAI
© St. Petersburg Times, published September 10, 1999
TAMPA -- Instead of defending St. Petersburg police Chief Goliath Davis III, a city attorney could end up providing testimony against Davis in a retaliation and sex discrimination case.
A U.S. District Court judge ruled Thursday that Robert Eschenfelder, the assistant city attorney, must give a sworn statement -- but only after other city officials are questioned in the case that pits former St. Petersburg police Sgt. Karen Lea against Davis and the city.
Ordering other officials to testify first may limit what Eschenfelder will be asked. In the coming months, U.S. Magistrate Thomas G. Wilson could be forced to decide which queries are covered by attorney-client privilege and which are not.
"This guy seems to have managed to get himself in the factual play of the game," Wilson said of Eschenfelder.
Lea contends Eschenfelder told her that Davis said she lacked credibility, that he wanted to fire her and that Davis pressured city officials into ruling against her in disciplinary matters.
"Those things weren't said," said Thomas M. Gonzales, who is representing Davis and the city.
Lea, a 21-year police veteran, quit the police department last summer after she was suspended and demoted to the rank of officer for making slurs about a co-worker's homosexuality. She did not dispute the facts of her case but argued that her punishment was too harsh.
In February, Lea sued Chief Davis and the city in U.S. District Court. Among the allegations, Lea says she was harassed. She says Davis did not take appropriate action when she complained about sexual comments from a drunken officer in 1997 because he was holding a grudge against her for accusing him of sexual harassment in 1982. Davis has denied the charge, and nothing ever came of the 1982 complaint.
Citing attorney-client confidentiality Thursday, Gonzalez, the lawyer for Davis and the city, wanted the judge to block Lea's attorney from asking Eschenfelder blanket questions about statements Davis has made about Lea.
In a meeting with Eschenfelder, Davis said he did not believe Lea's claim that a drunken officer was harassing her and said she lacked credibility, according to her statements in court documents.
"Clearly, the statements say, "I'm not going to investigate,' " said Lea's attorney, James Sheehan.
After another St. Petersburg police sergeant, Linda Perez, complained about harassment from the same officer, Eschenfelder said Davis lumped Perez and Lea together.
According to court documents, Eschenfelder told Perez that Davis told him: "Karen is a whore and Linda is not much different."
"No such thing was said," Gonzalez said.