A 24-year veteran of the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office is suing the office, the city of Elk Grove and the Elk Grove police chief. Former Capt. Vanessa Vaden alleges she was terminated three years before her planned retirement after reporting an inappropriate relationship between Elk Grove Police Chief Robert Davis and an employee.The complaint alleges that Davis initiated a similar relationship with Vaden years earlier while she worked under him. Vaden claims that county and Elk Grove city officials retaliated against her, subjected her to a biased internal investigation, damaged her professional reputation, and ultimately terminated her.The city of Elk Grove responded to the lawsuit with a statement that said a previous investigation found her claims unfounded: “The City of Elk Grove supports and has full confidence in our Police Chief and Police Department. The City also takes claims of personnel harassment and discrimination seriously. In that vein, the City previously commissioned a third-party independent investigator to investigate the claims of Ms. Vaden against City personnel. That investigation concluded that the claims of Ms. Vaden were either not sustained or unfounded.” See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter | Find us on YouTube here and subscribe to our channel

SACRAMENTO COUNTY, Calif. —

A 24-year veteran of the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office is suing the office, the city of Elk Grove and the Elk Grove police chief.

Former Capt. Vanessa Vaden alleges she was terminated three years before her planned retirement after reporting an inappropriate relationship between Elk Grove Police Chief Robert Davis and an employee.

The complaint alleges that Davis initiated a similar relationship with Vaden years earlier while she worked under him.

Vaden claims that county and Elk Grove city officials retaliated against her, subjected her to a biased internal investigation, damaged her professional reputation, and ultimately terminated her.

The city of Elk Grove responded to the lawsuit with a statement that said a previous investigation found her claims unfounded: “The City of Elk Grove supports and has full confidence in our Police Chief and Police Department. The City also takes claims of personnel harassment and discrimination seriously. In that vein, the City previously commissioned a third-party independent investigator to investigate the claims of Ms. Vaden against City personnel. That investigation concluded that the claims of Ms. Vaden were either not sustained or unfounded.”

See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter | Find us on YouTube here and subscribe to our channel