Detective owes city $22,000

DOWNTOWN — A former Burbank police detective has been ordered to pay the city $22,500 to cover a portion of the legal fees it incurred in defending itself against his privacy and defamation lawsuit.

Attorneys for Christopher Lee Dunn filed the lawsuit in July, claiming City Atty. Dennis Barlow illegally released his personnel records to the media the same day the former detective filed a wrongful termination and racial discrimination lawsuit.

But Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Irving Shimer struck down the complaint on the grounds that it constituted a Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation, or SLAPP. The city then submitted paperwork showing legal costs of roughly $47,000, Barlow said, but on Friday was awarded the $22,500.

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