Chula Vista police chief alleging city trying to push her out

Chula Vista’s police chief is alleging that city officials are trying to force her out, accusations the city denies.

The attorney representing Chief Roxana Kennedy said an incident at a police union holiday party is apparently being used as a pretext to oust his client.

Attorney Cory Briggs sent the city of Chula Vista a letter Friday asking it to preserve all evidence regarding “allegations of improper discipline, retaliation, discrimination and/or a hostile work environment,” and alleged “adverse actions” used against Kennedy.

News of the turmoil was first reported by news outlet La Prensa.

On Monday, Briggs alleged to the Union-Tribune that a few city officials and City Council members, whom he did not identify, have been working for months to replace his client without her knowledge.

The city issued a statement Monday that it is “deeply concerned by these accusations,” and that it “categorically rejects all allegations” contained in the letter Briggs sent to the city asking it to preserve evidence, including emails. The city said the suggestion of a conspiracy to replace Kennedy “is entirely false.”

Mayor John McCann, who returned last week from deployment as a Navy reservist, said that the news surprised him.

“She has been an exceptional leader,” McCann said of Kennedy, “and I want to make sure that we can get back to having the city run in a good, positive way, because she has done an incredibly great job as the police...