In re Acknowledgment Cases

INTRODUCTION

The City of Los Angeles (the city) requires that all newly hired police officers attend and graduate from the Los Angeles Police Academy. In the early 1990’s, the city realized that many officers who graduated from the academy were leaving within a few years to join other law enforcement agencies. The city sought to find a way to curtail the attrition. The city enacted Los Angeles Administrative Code section 4.1700 (hereafter LAAC, section 4.1700), which provides, in part, that any police officer hired by the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) is required to reimburse the city a prorated portion of the cost of training at the academy if he or she voluntarily leaves the LAPD after serving less than 60 months following graduation and goes to work for another law enforcement agency within one year after terminating employment with the LAPD. LAAC section 4.1700 further provides that upon application for a job as a police officer, the applicant shall sign an agreement stating that he or she intends to maintain employment with the LAPD for at least 60 continuous months and agreeing to reimburse the city for the direct and indirect costs of training if he or she…