The attorneys for a Valencia police officer suing the Los Angeles Police Department filed a “Pitchess Motion” seeking the records of an Internal Affairs investigation that did nothing to stop the harassment she faced regularly, according to a lawsuit she filed last year.
She’s also seeking any other harassment complaints that may have been filed against the police officers she said harassed her for months following an unconscionable breach of trust to which Lamas’ now ex-husband, Brady Lamas, pleaded no contest in March.
Anna Lamas was making a surprise video with their kids for her husband back in January 2022 when she stumbled upon an open and obscene chat on his phone, according to the lawsuit she filed.
She learned her husband “had been passing around sexually explicit photographs and sexually explicit videos” to other officers for more than a year, according to her lawsuit. She filed for divorce less than a week later.
In response to the case, Brady Lamas, a former LAPD narcotics detective, was placed on administrative leave for months. He ultimately pleaded no contest to a single misdemeanor count of revenge porn and surrendered his officer certification.
Now Anna Lamas is suing the LAPD and alleging the agency did not take reasonable measures to stop her fellow officers from harassing her.
The LAPD has denied wrongdoing in a response to the lawsuit the agency filed in February.
After 13 years in the LAPD, Anna Lamas learned her ex-husband had sent photos and videos of her to at least four of their co-workers, according to her lawsuit. When she complained to her lieutenant about harassment from the officers, her lieutenant informed her that “Internal Affairs decided that the officers were not being removed because they did not want to ‘compromise’ the ongoing investigation,” according to the most recent filing.
While Senate Bill 1421 generally gives the public access to criminal investigations into law enforcement officials, their personnel records are largely kept confidential, even from most court actions, under California Penal Code Section 832.7.
However, in certain instances where a lawyer claims a compelling reason, a Pitchess Motion can be filed and a judge will review the evidence and determine what is suitable for release. That hearing is now set for July 2025.
