FREMONT — The city of Fremont has paid $1.5 million to settle a wrongful death lawsuit filed by the family of a police captain who claimed pressure for him to retire early and retaliation from city officials contributed to his death by suicide.
The settlement brings to an end a lawsuit Annabel Bobbitt filed in October 2022 on behalf of her late husband, Fred Bobbitt. Attorneys for the Bobbitt family alleged the longtime Fremont police commander was forced to “come up with an early exit plan” and pressed to leave his job at the behest of former City Manager Mark Danaj beginning in September 2020. The stress contributed to the 54-year-old’s untimely death in February 2022, the lawsuit claimed.
The City Council unanimously approved the settlement in closed session on July 16, but the agreement has not been previously reported.
“The recent agreement between the city of Fremont and members of the Bobbitt family resolves the lawsuit in (a) manner the parties believe to be in their best interest,” City Manager Karena Shackelford’s office said in a statement. “The two and a half years since the loss of Police Captain Fred Bobbitt have been very difficult for the Fremont community and we continue to offer our sincere sympathy to the Bobbitt family. The city hopes that this action marks another step in the ongoing healing process.”
The family’s lawsuit alleged mistreatment by Danaj, now a felon who was convicted this year of receiving money under false pretenses for using his city credit card for personal expenses, then securing a six-figure severance package.
Attorneys for the family allege Danaj and Bobbitt had a falling out beginning with a disagreement during a June 2019 closed-session City Council meeting where police salaries and negotiations were discussed, according to court records. Bobbitt was there serving as acting chief, while then-Chief Kim Peterson was out of the country on vacation.
After the closed session, Danaj allegedly called Peterson in France to complain about Bobbitt and asked that he never serve as acting chief again, court documents say. Peterson allegedly told Danaj “that was not necessary,” according to the court documents. The lawsuit claims Peterson “became critical of Captain Bobbitt’s handling of a subordinate’s complaint” and that she “admonished (Bobbitt) for not supporting a unified front to the City Council.”
The city’s attorneys in court documents called Bobbitt’s death “tragic and unanticipated,” though also maintain the city “did nothing unlawful” that caused his death.
Bobbitt is described in the suit as “highly decorated” officer with an “unblemished record.” After joining the force in February 1990, he worked his way up from homicide detective to the ranks of sergeant, lieutenant, captain and acting chief. He was named the department’s “Officer of the Year” in 2004.
The lawsuit alleges Bobbitt was passed up for the chief’s job after Peterson because of his soured relationship with Danaj. The job went to fellow Capt. Sean Washington.
Between March and May 2021, Bobbitt filed complaints against Fremont with the Department of Fair Employment and Housing alleging “ongoing retaliation and other violations” against him, after officials allegedly pushed him to sign a separation agreement and he was stripped of his position atop the patrol division.
The state’s employment and housing department ruled in favor of Bobbitt, saying the city retaliated against him for demoting him after he refused to resign, the lawsuit says.
After the police union filed a grievance against the city on Bobbitt’s behalf in August 2021, an arbitrator wrote that “there was clear and convincing evidence that City Manager Danaj and Police Chief Peterson violated the City’s anti-retaliation policy,” according to the lawsuit.
The next year, Bobbitt enlisted himself in counseling “for work related emotional distress,” court documents say. He requested extra mental health services, but the city sent him to a hospital for additional counseling, where he was put on a wait list, according to the lawsuit.
Over the weekend of Feb. 19 and 20, 2022, Bobbitt spoke on the phone with Washington. On Monday, Feb. 21, he told his wife he did not think he could go to work, fearing he would be put on a mental health hold if he went to the office. He died by suicide at about 8:30 a.m. that day, according to the lawsuit.
A doctor noted in court records that Bobbitt suffered from severe work-related stress, and fulfilled many of the pre-requisites for a diagnosis of post-traumatic stress disorder, though he was never actually diagnosed. His mental condition was significantly impacted by the level of trauma he viewed while overseeing numerous homicide cases. Ultimately, his death was directly influenced by depression and his stress at work, according to the doctor.
Attorneys argued for damages “for the loss of familial association, society, comfort, and affection.”
Craig Peters, a San Francisco-based attorney representing the Bobbitt family, called the late captain “very beloved” by the community. Peters said the city denied a “non-monetary” request to honor Bobbitt through an annual award in his name, which would be given to someone in the community every year and displayed in a trophy case at the police department.
“It’s not just Freddie’s family that suffers and will suffer forever because it’s an incredible human being that is now not a part of their life, but a whole community loses,” Peters said. “He was an incredible resource to the communities that he worked and lived in, so they’ve lost as well.”
