{"id":155761,"date":"2026-01-30T00:55:08","date_gmt":"2026-01-30T00:55:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/155761\/"},"modified":"2026-01-30T00:55:08","modified_gmt":"2026-01-30T00:55:08","slug":"former-fresno-police-union-manager-alleges-sexual-harassment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/155761\/","title":{"rendered":"Former Fresno Police Union Manager Alleges Sexual Harassment"},"content":{"rendered":"

A former business manager for Fresno\u2019s police union alleges she endured sexual harassment and was later fired in retaliation, according to a lawsuit filed this month.<\/p>\n

The Fresno Police Officers Association denied the allegations in a statement to GV Wire.<\/p>\n

City of Fresno Attorney Andrew Janz told GV Wire, \u201cFrom the City\u2019s perspective, we take these allegations very seriously and will follow all protocols (while) noting also that the City has not been named as a defendant.\u201d<\/p>\n

Anna Pine filed the lawsuit Jan. 22 in Fresno County Superior Court<\/a>, seeking at least $1.95 million in damages. She is represented by Fresno attorney Brian Whelan.<\/p>\n

Pine worked for the Fresno Police Officers Association from 2021 until her termination on Aug. 21, 2025.<\/p>\n

The lawsuit accuses FPOA President Jeff La Blue of engaging Pine \u201cin a romantic and graphic \u2018sexting\u2019 relationship\u201d following her divorce.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Anna Pine<\/p>\n

\u201cThe termination was retaliatory and rooted in sex-based hostility and the systematic degradation of Plaintiff\u2019s authority after she rejected (Jeff) La Blue\u2019s advances, opposed misconduct, and sought HR guidance,\u201d the lawsuit states.<\/p>\n

La Blue remains a sergeant with the Fresno Police Department, though he is assigned full time to union duties.<\/p>\n

Before joining the FPOA, Pine served as CEO of The Rotary Club of Fresno from 2005 to 2021.<\/p>\n

FPOA Issues Statement<\/p>\n

FPOA denied Pine\u2019s allegations in a\u00a0written statement<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cPine was an at-will employee and was terminated for cause following documented performance and conduct issues,\u201d the statement said. \u201cThe allegations in her lawsuit are contradicted by extensive documentation and are denied.\u201d<\/p>\n

The statement added that the FPOA uncovered additional evidence after Pine\u2019s termination that it says further supports its position.<\/p>\n

\u201cBased on the evidence identified and acquired after Pine\u2019s termination, the FPOA and La Blue will take all necessary actions to defend themselves and vindicate their rights,\u201d the statement said. \u201cThe Association will not litigate this matter through the media and will not comment further.\u201d<\/p>\n

Whelan issued a rebuttal.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe organization\u2019s president is on tape blaming my client\u2019s menstrual cycle, calling her a \u2018f\u2014\u2014 bitch,\u2019 and saying he was going to fire her for doing her job. Afterward, they lied about her to cover it up. That is not a misunderstanding \u2014 it is blatant retaliation and sex discrimination, and my client will be vindicated in court,\u201d Whelan said.<\/p>\n

Allegations of Unwanted Advances, Discrimination
\n\"\"<\/a>Sgt. Jeff La Blue<\/p>\n

According to the lawsuit, La Blue engaged in repeated sexualized communications and conduct toward Pine, including explicit text messages, handwritten notes, verbal statements, and physical advances that Pine rejected.<\/p>\n

When Pine attempted to disengage from the sexual dynamic, La Blue\u2019s demeanor toward her \u201cchanged materially,\u201d the lawsuit says.<\/p>\n

The lawsuit further alleges that La Blue made sexually disparaging remarks about Pine to other employees.<\/p>\n

La Blue used his foot to caress Pine\u2019s leg during a business meeting in what Pine described as an unwanted and \u201cunmistakably sexual\u201d advance, the lawsuit alleges. Pine reported the alleged conduct to human resources, according to the filing.<\/p>\n

The lawsuit alleges FPOA maintained an office recording system that captured audio and video. The lawsuit said Pine accessed the recordings to determine if La Blue had conversations about her with another employee.<\/p>\n

In one such conversation, La Blue allegedly used derogatory language to describe Pine. La Blue also threatened to fire Pine for what the lawsuit interpreted as Pine \u201casserting authority, enforcing workplace standards, and pushing back against misconduct.\u201d<\/p>\n

When Pine was terminated, the lawsuit says she was offered $63,956 in severance. The filing questions the legality of confidentiality provisions that would have required Pine to remain silent, citing California\u2019s Silence No More Act<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The lawsuit also alleges La Blue spread false rumors that Pine had stolen money from the FPOA and engaged in financial wrongdoing.<\/p>\n

Those accusations are untrue, the lawsuit says.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe timing makes clear they were weaponized as retaliation and pretext intended to smear Plaintiff\u2019s reputation, justify the termination after the fact, and intimidate her into silence,\u201d the lawsuit alleges.<\/p>\n

The complaint lists seven causes of action, including hostile work environment, sex and gender discrimination, violation of the Silence No More Act, retaliation, wrongful termination, defamation, and waiting time penalties.<\/p>\n

A court hearing has not yet been scheduled.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A former business manager for Fresno\u2019s police union alleges she endured sexual harassment and was later fired in…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":155762,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[112,114,113],"class_list":{"0":"post-155761","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-fresno","8":"tag-fresno","9":"tag-fresno-headlines","10":"tag-fresno-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/155761","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=155761"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/155761\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/155762"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=155761"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=155761"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=155761"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}