The City of Seattle has been hit with another tort claim.
This claim comes from Seattle Police Department (SPD) Lt. John O’Neil for suffering “discrimination, harassment, and retaliation based on my race, gender, and protected activity.”
“Certain members of SPD leadership unlawfully removed me from my position in the K9 Unit, treated me unfairly during my time in the Public Affairs Office, and deprived me of the position promised to me in the Crime Scene Investigation Unit,” O’Neil stated. “SPD also retaliated against me by failing to refute defamatory claims brought against me that it knew were false, which damaged my reputation and subjected me to public ridicule and embarrassment.”
He’s filing the tort for unspecified economic damages due to emotional distress and pain and suffering.
O’Neil was named in a previous lawsuit against the city and the SPD
Four female Seattle police officers filed a lawsuit against the City of Seattle and the SPD earlier this year, accusing leadership of sexual harassment and creating a toxic workplace.
The four women — Kame Spencer, Jean Gulpan, Valerie Carson and Lauren Truscott — filed the lawsuit after their previous tort claim reportedly went unanswered.
O’Neil — along with former Seattle Police Chief Adrian Diaz — was named in the lawsuit for his behavior. O’Neil ran the media relations department, where the four women were employed at one point. All four women have been passed over for promotions, according to the previously filed tort claim, and have since been transferred out of the department.
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“Supervisors made advances or made comments to these women about their looks or about their dating history, and when they rebuffed those advances, they were then punished,” attorney Sumeer Singla told KIRO Newsradio. “We’re talking about harassment, unwanted advances. We’re talking about retaliation where they have made complaints and then have had complaints lodged against them.”
In a previous interview with KIRO Newsradio, Singla explained that the women, who were newly hired, were told to stick with a male officer to learn the ropes of the job. But what appeared to be a mentoring relationship allegedly led to a grooming relationship, where the women were sexually harassed.
One woman was invited to a work trip in Las Vegas, where O’Neil allegedly told her he was “really good at sex.” Singla said other crude remarks were also allegedly made during that trip.
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Contributing: Frank Sumrall and Julia Dallas, MyNorthwest
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