Gay Officer Files Harassment Lawsuit Against Oceanside Police
Sgt. Tyler Peppard claims his fellow officers relentlessly harassed him, left rotting food in his bag, and tampered with his SWAT equipment.
A gay police officer in California is suing the department, alleging that he was subjected to years of discrimination and harassment from superiors and fellow officers and was diagnosed with PTSD as a result.
In a lawsuit filed in California Superior Court, Sgt. Tyler Peppard, who joined the Oceanside Police Department as a recruit in August 2016, claims he was mistreated and even given negative performance reviews by his superiors because they objected to his alleged “lifestyle.”
Peppard, a second-generation officer, was at first praised and recognized by his superiors as a high performer, but things changed when his partner “outed” him to other officers. At that point, Peppard says he noticed a shift in the attitudes of his co-workers and superiors.
In August 2017, after nearly a year on the job, Peppard claims his direct supervisor, Sgt. Brandt, and Field Training Officer Matt Byrd had a conversation about his job performance. Peppard alleges that Brandt told him, “Your lifestyle choice do not add up to the values of our police department. Your dad is probably disappointed and embarrassed. He probably would prefer you turn in your badge and gun.”
Brandt also allegedly told Peppard, “You need more life experiences since you have only lived at your parents’ house, although your mom did just have your brother which is piss poor planning if you ask me.”
When Peppard asked why his mother’s pregnancy was brought into a performance evaluation and asked what “lifestyle choice” meant exactly, Byrd allegedly told him, “Shut the fuck up. This is not your time to talk.”
Peppard noticed that his daily observation report marking “went from high to extremely low,” and he was later recommended for termination.
His father used connections to help his son keep his job and to be moved “out of the purview of the units where he had been struggling,” according to the lawsuit.
Peppard was subsequently able to “thrive” at work, the lawsuit claims, receiving “above standard” and “outstanding” marks until late 2023, when his supervisors changed. At that point, the harassment began again.
His colleagues would leave rotting food in his equipment bag and, at times, tampered with his SWAT equipment by removing ammunition from Peppard’s magazines, which could have had dangerous and deadly implications.
The harassment was constant, occurring nearly every day and affected Peppard’s chances for advancement. He was denied 43 days of a 180-day term as a probationary sergeant because his patrol division captain said he “didn’t trust” him and believed Peppard to be a “liability” to the department.
The lawsuit claims that by having his probationary status extended — while other officers were green-lighted to become full-time sergeants — his future wages and benefits, as well as opportunities for future advancement, were negatively impacted.
“Plaintiff experienced discrimination simply because he is an openly gay man,” the lawsuit reads. “Indeed, he is the only openly gay person in the entire department.”
The city of Oceanside has since launched an internal investigation to look into Peppard’s allegations. Oceanside City Attorney John Mullen told San Diego NBC affiliate KNSD that the investigation remains ongoing and that the city will not comment further “until all witnesses have been interviewed, all relevant evidence examined and the independent investigation is concluded.”
Peppard’s attorney, Dante Pride, told KFMB that his client was treated differently after being outed, from the way that fellow officers speak to him to the way they treat him. He expects more salient details about his client’s mistreatment to come to light as the lawsuit proceeds.
“I don’t know how I would feel if the person who I have to report to, the person in charge of my paycheck, in charge of my hours, basically in charge of my life, tells me that they believe my parents should be ashamed because of my sexuality,” Pride said. “I mean, it’s heavy, very heavy.”
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