Santa Barbara Jury Hits UCSB Police Department with $3.3 Million Verdict

A smorgasbord of lawsuits filed against the UCSB Police Department by current and former officers has finally been resolved, with a Santa Barbara jury last week awarding three of those officers a combined $3.3 million in damages.

The jury found the department had unlawfully retaliated against the trio after they reported a chronic pattern of workplace misconduct, including allegations of nepotism and favoritism, misuse of university resources, interference with investigations, and accusations of sexual harassment. 

Their three cases ― along with three others that resulted in no monetary awards ― were filed between 2018 and 2021 and consolidated into a single lawsuit against the Regents of the University of California, which oversees all UCSB operations. A spokesperson for the Regents did not respond to requests for comment. 

Plaintiff attorney Jamie Keeton said, “We hope this verdict serves as a reminder to all employers that retaliation against whistleblowers is unlawful, and that those who come forward in good faith deserve protection, not reprisal.”

Jonathan Reyes, who is no longer with the department, was awarded $1.8 million. In 2017, Reyes was working as a Field Training Officer when he objected to one of his trainees being promoted to full duty.

Reyes told his supervisor the trainee had not successfully completed the state’s required POST (Peace Officer Standards and Training) program, had received failing evaluations, and even been recommended for termination.

Despite Reyes’s objections, the trainee ― who allegedly had a personal connection to one of the department’s higher-ups ― was deployed unsupervised into the field.

Reyes was so troubled that he reported his concerns to a regional California POST coordinator, insisting the decision created a public safety risk. Soon after, Reyes received an unusually negative performance evaluation from his superiors and was later passed over for two separate promotions.

Reyes filed an internal grievance challenging his performance review, which was overturned, but he successfully argued in his civil trial that the department’s actions had already harmed his career and constituted illegal retaliation for his whistleblower complaint.

Tiffany Little, currently the department’s Emergency Communications Sergeant, was awarded $1.3 million, and her husband, former officer Michael Little, received $200,000. Their joint lawsuit focused on reported misconduct by former Sergeant Ryan Smith, who is now an assistant chief in the law enforcement division of the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services.

The Littles claimed Smith had engaged in an intimate relationship with a subordinate officer and covered up a car crash she caused, which damaged university property, and then intervened when supervisors attempted to discipline her. That same officer later sued the department for sexual harassment in a case that settled out of court in 2024.

The couple further claimed Smith inappropriately activated his cruiser’s lights and sirens to bypass traffic (including to arrive on time for a breakfast event), used university vehicles and fuel cards for personal trips, committed time-card fraud, and was responsible for a possible hit-and-run while on duty.

Although Smith was briefly placed on leave, the complaint says the university failed to properly investigate his apparent transgressions. Smith resigned in 2017.

When Tiffany Little later cooperated with an attorney investigating another UCSB officer accused of sexual assault, she was told by department brass that she “talked too much.”

The retaliation the Littles endured included workplace ostracism, removal from overtime assignments, limited scheduling options, and denial of professional opportunities, the jury found. 

Smith had filed his own lawsuit in 2019 that claimed misconduct by Michael Little and retaliation by the department. While the jury returned a verdict that Smith had acted in good faith as a whistleblower who reported alleged misconduct in multiple rape investigations, an officer’s improper contact with sexual assault victims, and an officer fantasizing about shooting a black man in the face, it awarded him no damages.

The incidents and circumstances described in all six lawsuits took place when the UCSB Police Department, which currently employs 45 sworn officers with an operating budget of $10 million, was led by Chief Dustin Olson.

Many of the complaints referenced Olson and his “inner circle” of supervisors ― namely Gregory Smorodinsky, Robert Romero, and David Millard ― as contributing to the period of tension and upheaval.

Smorodinsky remains with the department. Romero and Millard have since moved on. Olson is now the public safety director for the Colorado School of Mines. None of them responded to requests for comment.