Chula Vista police chief sues city, alleging defamation, harassment and invasion of privacy
Chula Vista police chief sues city, alleging defamation, harassment and invasion of privacy
Publish Date: 2026-05-15 17:01:00
Source Domain: www.police1.com
By Teri Figueroa and Walker Armstrong
The San Diego Union-Tribune
CHULA VISTA, Calif. — After months of turmoil and accusations of a plot to oust her, Chula Vista’s police chief sued the city and four councilmembers Tuesday, alleging defamation, invasion of privacy and harassment.
The legal action filed in San Diego Superior Court comes several weeks after Chief Roxana Kennedy filed claims with the city — generally seen as a precursor to a lawsuit — alleging that the city manager used an incident outside of work as a pretext to reprimand Kennedy and launched a retaliatory investigation.
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The defendants are the city of Chula Vista, City Manager Tiffany Allen and councilmembers Michael Inzunza, Cesar Fernandez, Carolina Chavez and Jose Preciado.
Inzunza and Preciado declined to comment Wednesday, and the remaining two council members did not respond to a request for comment.
In a statement on behalf of the city of Chula Vista and Allen, the city said it “categorically denies the allegations and will vigorously defend against them in court. The City is confident the truth will show that no wrongdoing occurred.”
The city has strongly denied the allegations since they first surfaced earlier this year and said an alleged conspiracy to oust her was “entirely false.
The suit does not name Mayor John McCann, and Kennedy’s attorney said he has no reason to believe the mayor was involved in any of the alleged actions. McCann’s office declined to comment on the suit and the months-long tensions between the city and its police chief.
Kennedy, 65, has been with the department for 33 years. She has led it since 2016 and is the longest-serving police chief in the region. The lawsuit alleges a council member was “secretly vetting a younger Latino law-enforcement official in a nearby jurisdiction” to replace her. The suit does not identify the council member.
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