A jury has awarded $8.4 million to a former White police officer who alleged he faced discrimination and retaliation by Korean-American command staff at the La Palma Police Department.

Ross Byer joined the department in May 2022 and completed his training that August with positive performance evaluations, according to court records. His performance remained satisfactory until he was reassigned that year to a different sergeant.

Byer alleged the sergeant, who is Korean-American, favored a Korean officer on the same shift and routinely gave Byer a heavier workload. During the trial, he acknowledged giving Byer more assignments than Byer’s Korean partner, records show.

Byer reported the treatment to Capt. Jesse Amend in January and February 2023, alleging disparate treatment and remarks ab

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