EX-PLEASANTON COP SUES CITY, POLICE TO GET JOB BACK

He had affairs with police informant

Jeffery Anadon, a longtime Pleasanton police officer and decorated Vietnam
veteran, admits he twice had affairs with a former drug snitch against the
chief's emphatic orders.

But he does not believe he should have been demoted from lieutenant to
patrol officer for his actions.

``He's an outstanding officer who has had a really hard time,'' his
attorney, Carlos Alcala, said yesterday on the first day of Anadon's civil
trial against Pleasanton and its police department.

Anadon, 49, of Lathrop, is seeking reinstatement and an undisclosed amount
of money for emotional suffering he says he endured after the demotion.

He also claims he was discriminated against and subjected to racial slurs
while working at the Pleasanton Police Department. Anadon is Mexican and
Filipino.

``He wants justice,'' Alcala said of his client, who in the mid-1980s was
also accused of molesting the informant's daughter but later acquitted.

During opening statements yesterday in Alameda County Superior Court in
Hayward, the city's attorney, Paul Coble, told the jury Anadon was the
``master of his own fate.''

``He used profoundly poor judgment,'' Coble said. He said Anadon was passed
over for promotions not because of his race, but because he is not a good
role model for other officers. ``He's not someone they should pattern
themselves after.''

Anadon served two tours of duty during the Vietnam War as a Green Beret and
earned three Bronze Star medals.

He joined the Pleasanton Police Department in 1971 and was promoted to
sergeant seven years later. In 1989, he was a lieutenant, supervising
narcotics and vice detectives. His job evaluations reflected the work of a
dedicated officer.

But things turned sour for him shortly after his last promotion.

Anadon, who is married, had a six-month affair with a woman he once arrested
for possessing drugs. The woman became a snitch for the department and
earned $1,500 for two months of work, court records show.

Chief Bill Eastman learned of the affair through an anonymous caller.

Eastman confronted Anadon, who promised to cut ties with the woman. As
punishment, he relinquished one week of vacation but was not demoted.

Then, in 1990, the pair again started a relationship lasting for two years,
Anadon testified yesterday. In 1994, Eastman learned of the affair when
Anadon told him the former snitch accused him of child molestation.

A jury acquitted Anadon in 1995, but by then he had been demoted to officer.
His salary dropped from $6,000 a month to $4,700.

``He was not demoted because he had an extramarital affair,'' Coble said
outside the courtroom. ``He was demoted because he disobeyed the chief's
orders. His conduct was unbecoming.''

Checked-by: Melodi Cornett