A Los Angeles County jury awarded a former LAPD commander nearly $6 million on Wednesday, finding in her favor in a lawsuit against the department that claimed she was wrongfully fired over an alcohol-fueled incident in 2018. “I feel grateful and vindicated,” Mehringer told The Times after the verdict. In the trial, Smith told jurors that Moore lied when the ex-chief, who retired in 2024, testified that he never overruled a disciplinary panel’s decision to terminate someone . But Sherman later withdrew his support, openly declaring that he was doing so because Mehringer had chosen to expose the department’s dirty laundry, Smith said. Kelly later pleaded no contest.

Source: Los Angeles Times March 19, 2026 08:52 UTC