Apodaca

BACKGROUND

The facts are undisputed. Apodaca worked at the Harbor UCLA Medical Center. On July 23, 2009, when returning from his lunch break, he got into a dispute with a pedestrian over a parking space. As Apodaca attempted to drive into the space, the pedestrian moved into it and held out his hands to block access, intending to save the space for his wife. Apodaca waved the man away and told him to move, then drove toward him. The pedestrian refused to move, and Apodaca stopped his vehicle “a good foot” away from him. The pedestrian then got down on the ground, claimed Apodaca had hit him, and was transported to the emergency room. Apodaca was arrested by Los Angeles County Sheriff’s deputies but not charged. DHS appointed Patricia Siler to investigate the incident, and on September 10, 2009, she met with Apodaca and his union representative. Siler, formerly a stenographer employed by the County of Los Angeles, asked Apodaca a series of questions and recorded his responses in shorthand, then transcribed her notes within an hour. As quoted in Siler’s interview notes, Apodaca stated: “‘I came back from lunch; I was outside of the PCDC building. There was a person in another car…