Claiming breach of contract, the City of Los Angeles has filed a $1.6 million lawsuit against 53 former LAPD officers who left the force within five years of their graduation from the Police Academy. Since 1996, LAPD officers have been contractually obligated to serve with the LAPD for five years, or else reimburse the city for their training. Thirty of the officers named in the suit have hired an attorney to press their claim that the contract violates federal and state labor laws, and the officers are receiving support from local police forces who recruit from among LAPD graduates.
See "LAPD Suing Former Officers", Patrick McGreevy, Los Angeles Times, March 21, 2006