Until now.\u00a0<\/p>\n
In redacted versions of the complaints released to Voice of OC by the city this month, the officers mainly say Hernandez is creating a hostile workplace for them and jeopardizing their safety by criticizing them on social media and referring to them online as murderers.<\/p>\n
The complaints came as Hernandez lambasted proposed changes to the police oversight commission<\/a> that could dial back its power to hold police officers accountable and after he publicly criticized the police\u2019s use of force against anti-ICE protestors<\/a>.<\/p>\n Hernandez has denied that he has harassed the police officers and said he has been harassed by certain police officers in the city over the years \u2013 a claim union officials say Hernandez has never shown proof of to them.<\/p>\n He also said he campaigned on holding police accountable and it his First Amendment right to make those comments, especially when it\u2019s about an officer being investigated for multiple shootings.<\/p>\n \u201cThose criticisms are valid, and our First Amendment rights apply to be able to critique what is happening on our public taxpayer dollars. I am reserved that same right as well,\u201d Hernandez said in a Wednesday interview, adding his remarks haven\u2019t impacted the police officers\u2019 employment.<\/p>\n \u201cTo be pro-justice does not make you anti-police, and to be pro-accountability does not make you anti-police, and that narrative is an irresponsible one that hurts Americans and creates further distrust between our police department.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n The police union spent over $50,000 against Hernandez\u2019s reelection campaign last year.<\/p>\n John Kachirisky, president of the Santa Ana Police Association, said creating or spreading false narratives can do long term harm to someone\u2019s reputation especially when it comes from someone of influence.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is part of the problem as to why politics has become so toxic in this day and age. It seems most people do not care about truth and facts, only about sensationalist narratives meant to drive public anger,\u201d reads his statement in a Wednesday email.<\/p>\n \u201cThis damage could cause irreparable harm to one\u2019s character and reputation since it is on the internet forever.\u201d<\/p>\n Kachirisky said the union was not involved in the officers\u2019 decision to file the complaints.<\/p>\n David Loy, legal director of the nonprofit First Amendment Coalition, said elected officials generally have the right to comment on anything, especially issues of public concern.<\/p>\n \u201cWorkplace harassment is the kind of thing that goes beyond criticism. It\u2019s so severe and pervasive that it makes it almost literally impossible to do your job in the workplace,\u201d he said in a Wednesday phone interview.<\/p>\n \u201cPolice officers carry a gun and a badge, and potentially exercise enormous power and a certain amount of criticism just goes with the territory of holding their kind of job.\u201d<\/p>\n Kachirisky said there has to be a line between freedom of speech and creating a toxic workplace.<\/p>\n \u201cAt the end of the day, Hernandez has a position of authority over all of the city employees and to say this authority figure has a First Amendment right to verbally abuse his own employees opens up a can of worms and I don\u2019t believe any labor union would stand for their members to be treated in such a way by their boss,\u201d reads his statement.<\/p>\n Hernandez said a hostile workplace is never acceptable which is why police officers aren\u2019t \u201cjudge, jury and executioner.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThey\u2019re talking about First Amendment rights being contentious, but somebody being murdered for being unarmed is not something that they think we should raise our arms up about,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cI disagree. I don\u2019t think that\u2019s justice.\u201d<\/p>\n Both Kachirisky and Hernandez said the city should release the human resources investigation findings to the public and the independent investigation into the complaints.<\/p>\n Paul Eakins, a city spokesman, did not respond to emailed questions Wednesday on whether the city would publicly release the results of both the internal investigation and city contracted one.<\/p>\n He also did not respond to questions on who the city is contracting to do the investigation or how much the city is spending on it.<\/p>\n Hernandez isn\u2019t the only person police officers in the city say have harassed them.<\/p>\n In August, the police union sent journalist Ben Camacho \u2013 who often writes about Santa Ana police \u2013 a cease and desist letter demanding he stop reaching out to its members to ask them questions or face legal actions.<\/p>\n [Read: Does Santa Ana\u2019s Police Union View Criticism and Questions as Harassment?<\/a>]<\/p>\n What\u2019s in The Complaints?<\/p>\n Hernandez previously said multiple times one of the police officers who filed the complaint said his cousin, Brandon Lopez<\/a>, had a gun when Anaheim police officers shot and killed him in 2021 but Lopez was unarmed.<\/p>\n In one of the redacted complaints, the officer \u2013 whose name is redacted \u2013 accused Hernandez of reposting a \u201cdefamatory \u2018murder flyer\u2019\u201d referencing Lopez\u2019s killing on his social media accounts that depicts the officer as a murder suspect and was previously circulated internally in the police department.<\/p>\n \u201cThe public reposting of provably false information by a sitting councilmember \u2013 is not only defamatory, retaliatory, and deeply damaging to my reputation and mental well-being,\u201d reads the complaint.<\/p>\n To view complaint #1, click here<\/a>.<\/p>\n In the complaint, the officer adds that the killing was investigated by the State Attorney General\u2019s office<\/a>, the OC District Attorney\u2019s office and the police department\u2019s internal affairs and that all three agencies cleared them of any criminal liability.<\/p>\n Anaheim officials ultimately agreed to pay out a nearly $6 million settlement<\/a> to the four children of Lopez.<\/p>\n The officer also wrote in his email to officials that he made a formal complaint about the flyer when he first saw it and it was investigated by the department and a city hired investigator but no corrective action was taken.<\/p>\n In the complaint, he said he\u2019s suing the city and that Hernandez\u2019s actions have endangered his safety and contributed to a hostile workplace.<\/p>\n \u201cThis reposting is part of a clear pattern of harassment and retaliation stemming from my civil lawsuit filed nearly three years ago, which outlined discrimination, denial of advancement opportunities, and targeted mistreatment within the Santa Ana Police Department,\u201d reads the complaint.<\/p>\n Hernandez previously said multiple times the other two officers who filed complaints against him were involved in the shooting death of Noe Rodriguez<\/a> at the end of last year.\u00a0<\/p>\n The killing of Rodriguez sparked resident calls for accountability this past summer and is currently under investigation by the state attorney general\u2019s office \u2013 a standard practice for police shootings of unarmed people.<\/p>\n According to an OC Register article<\/a>, Rodriguez was holding a fake gun.<\/p>\n In the second redacted complaint, an officer \u2013 whose name is withheld in the document \u2013 alleges Hernandez has created a hostile work environment by publicly slandering him on Instagram.<\/p>\n \u201cAmong other allegations, Councilman Hernandez accused me of \u2018street terrorism,\u2019 declared that I was \u2018murdering members of the public,\u2019 and labeled me \u2018corrupt,\u2019\u201d reads the second complaint.<\/p>\n \u201cThis orchestrated character assassination has isolated me from colleagues and destroyed community trust developed over years of service.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/SantaAnaCityCouncil_Oct7_2025_Taylor-17.jpg\")
Councilmember Johnathan Ryan Hernandez, center, sits with other attendees during discussion of his censure at the Santa Ana City Council meeting on Oct. 7, 2025. Credit: ERIKA TAYLOR, Voice of OC<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Homelessness_SantaAna_Leopo_2024-5.jpg\")
Santa Ana Police Officer speaks to a homeless person. Credit: JULIE LEOPO, Voice of OC<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Taylor_NeedleDist_SantaAna_April-2024_19.jpg\")
The Santa Ana Police Department building on April 6, 2024. Credit: ERIKA TAYLOR, Voice of OC<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/SantaAnaCityCouncil_July1_2025_Taylor-7.jpg\")
The Santa Ana City Council meeting on July 1, 2025. Credit: ERIKA TAYLOR, Voice of OC<\/p>\n