Man Suing LAPD, South Bay City for False Arrest

LOS ANGELES, CA - A man, who was dating a Los Angeles Police Department detective, is suing the department, the cities of Los Angeles and Torrance, for false arrest.

The man, identified only as John Doe, alleges he was wrongfully arrested after Detective Christine Wycoff accused him of sexual assault and domestic violence.

Also being sued are Los Angeles County, the cities of Los Angeles and Torrance and LAPD Sgt. Alan Bone, who the lawsuit states was married to Wycoff when she began her relationship with John Doe. John Doe's ex-girlfriend, identified as Jane Doe, is also named as the plaintiff in the case.

The suit alleges civil rights violations, intentional infliction of emotional distress and aiding and abetting both assault and battery. The complaint seeks unspecified damages.

Representatives for the cities of Los Angeles and Torrance did not immediately reply to inquiries seeking comment today. A spokeswoman for the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department said she would check to see if the department will have a comment.

Wycoff, 45, was previously charged with dissuading a witness and false imprisonment and faces up to four years and eight months in prison if convicted, prosecutors said.

According to the lawsuit, Wycoff met John Doe when he replied to a Craigslist personal ad the detective posted in June 2014. Wycoff was wed to Bone at the time, but the two were having marital difficulties, the suit states.

Within a few days of their first conversation, John Doe and Wycoff began a consensual, sexual relationship, the suit states.

At a dinner the next month, Wycoff became angry when John Doe told her that he lived and worked with his ex-flame, but that they had ceased their romance, the suit states. In the ensuing days, John Doe's attempted without success to convince Wycoff that he was no longer intimately involved with Jane Doe, the suit states.

"She berated him and accused him of lying and sleeping with other people," according to the lawsuit.

Although Wycoff threatened to seek a restraining order against John Doe, the two eventually reconciled and they had dinner at her home, the suit states. However, during that evening Wycoff obtained Jane Doe's car keys, which John Doe had in his possession, and made a copy of a USB drive attached to the key ring that included photos and a sexual contract Jane Doe had with a former husband, the suit states.

The relationship between Wycoff and John Doe took another negative turn when she became angry that he did not return a bracelet she had given him, allegedly telling him he would "regret it" if she did not get it back, the suit states. The bracelet was in Jane Doe's car, which was stolen, according to the lawsuit.

"Wycoff threatened to accuse plaintiff of domestic violence and rape if he did not return the bracelet to her," the suit alleges. Wycoff also texted him that she intended to "teach him a lesson he will never forget," according to the lawsuit.

However, Wycoff and John Doe tried once more to resume their relationship, but in August 2014 she became angry again when he told her he had spoken about her to her former LAPD supervisor and that a probe was opened by Internal Affairs, the suit states.

"She ... renewed her threat to falsely accuse him of domestic violence and sexual abuse," the suit states.

Wycoff told Bone about her relationship with John Doe, which prompted Bone to advise her how to derail any Internal Affairs investigation, the suit states.

In September 2014, John Doe told an Internal Affairs official that Wycoff never threatened him, an action he hoped would keep her from reporting false accusations against him, the suit states.

The two again tried to resume their relationship, but Wycoff became upset upon seeing an email John Doe received on his cell phone from a former girlfriend, the suit states. During yet another confrontation, she punched him in the stomach, the suit states.

After John Doe tried to drive away from the latest incident, he was pulled over by members of the Torrance Police Department, who arrested him after Wycoff accused him of robbery, sexual assault and other allegations, the suit states.

Torrance police made no reasonable effort to get his side of the story, John Doe alleges. He was transferred from the Torrance city jail before any arraignment to the Men's Central Jail -- described in the complaint as "the dungeon" -- in violation of the city's own protocol and placed in the general population, where he witnessed an inmate stabbing in his shared cell, according to the lawsuit.

Two LAPD detectives interrogated John Doe while he was in custody and did not cease their questioning even though the plaintiff said he had an attorney and did not want to answer questions, the suit states.

Prosecutors declined to file charges against John Doe, who was released from custody in October 2014, the suit states. That same month Wycoff sought a restraining order against him, but a judge denied the request, the suit states.

According to the LAPD, Wycoff has been with the department for 17 years.

— City News Service, photo via Shutterstock