The suit alleges that former Clovis Police Officer Kyle Pennington violated the rights of Desiree Martinez and that the police department did not do enough to help her. Martinez asserts that Pennington abused her while they dated for over a year and continued to abuse her after they broke up but the police response was inadequate. The suit also names Pennington's parents as defendants since, according to a recent Fresno Bee article on the topic, they were aware of the abuse but did not take action to stop it. This charge may be especially incendiary since Pennington's father, Kim, is a police officer in Sanger. The lawsuit asserts that he had a professional duty to report his son's alleged abusive behavior.

Martinez is seeking unspecified damages. Pennington is forbidden from contacting Martinez for at least ten years due to a court order imposed at the request of Martinez. Of course the domestic violence portion of the case is extremely serious. But, if nepotism and a police cover-up are involved, this case becomes even more significant and may reveal a substantial problem that may impact the public's ability to trust their police officers.