Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti will be forced to give a deposition in a sexual harassment case involving his former top aide.
On Thursday, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Ruth Kwan gave the order to Garcetti that he participate in a deposition no later than Jan. 30, 2021, in a lawsuit filed by police Officer Matthew Garza, a former bodyguard to Garcetti who accused the mayor’s longtime adviser, Rick Jacobs, of sexual misconduct.
Jacobs, who is taking a leave of absence from his nonprofit group tied to the mayor, has denied the allegations. Garcetti released a statement in October that said, in part, “I take seriously all allegations of harassment.”
City attorneys reportedly wanted Garza’s lawyers to call for Garcetti’s lower-level staffers to give a deposition, but Kwan said Garcetti’s “failure to act” in the alleged instances made him a critical witness in the case. “It’s extremely probative, and he should be deposed,” Kwan said.
Garza sued Los Angeles in July, alleging that Jacobs had subjected him on “hundreds of occasions to unwanted and unwelcome sexual comments and touching.”
Journalist Yashar Ali first reported that Garcetti witnessed multiple incidents of Jacobs sexually harassing other men in October, noting that Jacobs “forcibly kissed” him on the lips “on a number of occasions.” Ali reported that Garcetti’s refusal to take action in response to Jacob’s harassment “created a work environment where administration staffers might be uncomfortable reporting sexual misconduct they’ve witnessed or experienced.”
“The incidents where Jacobs would forcibly kiss me always happened in front of others and at political and social functions. Jacobs would grab my face and kiss me on the lips—always twice—and he would turn to other people who witnessed it and say, ‘He has the softest lips,'” Ali wrote.
“Jacobs would also hug me in the same way Garza described in his complaint. A source described it to me as a ‘power hug,’ but Jacobs’ hugs were more than hugs. I remember commenting to him once that he was hugging me so hard I felt like my teeth were going to break. (And besides, no one should be hugged without their consent),” Ali continued.
