Female Des Moines police employees awarded millions in sex discrimination lawsuit
Des Moines City Council unanimously voted Monday to pay out nearly $2.4 million to four female employees alleging decades of sexual discrimination in the Des Moines Police Department.
Four female officers and employees sued the department in 2021, alleging leaders failed to prevent or adequately respond to a wide range of misconduct, including unsolicited nude photos from male coworkers, sexist insults and unwanted touching and groping. They also alleged male officers received preferential assignments and promotions while female officers who complained suffered retaliation.
A fifth plaintiff has since dropped from the case.
The lawsuit was scheduled to go to trial in early May. But a few days prior, the parties filed a joint notice to the court that they had "reached agreement for resolution" of the case.
The Des Moines City Council voted on the settlement through consent agenda at its meeting Monday evening, without discussion. The individual amounts, according to City Manager Scott Sanders, include:
Tracy Rhoads, 49, a senior police officer — $1.1 million
Jessica Bastian, 28, a senior police officer — $450,000
Capt. Cynthia Donahue, 55 — $437,500
Shannon Duffy, 52, a public safety digital evidence specialist — $387,500
In a statement Friday, Sanders said the city does not admit fault with the settlement.
"While the City does not intend in any way to diminish the emotional experiences of the Plaintiffs, a settlement does not indicate liability; the City acted quickly and appropriately as required by law in response to complaints of harassment," he said. "If Council approves the settlement Monday, the plaintiffs, the City and the Department will all be able to move forward, and constructive input from the plaintiffs will be received by the City in an effort to continue to provide a good working environment for its employees."
Plaintiffs ask for changes at DMPD
The plaintiffs' attorney Jill Zwagerman said the individual settlement amounts were determined by how much harassment each woman said she endured over the course of her career.
Rhoads has been with the department since 1997 and Donahue since 1991. Bastian began her career in 2017. Duffy has been a civilian employee since 2017 and before that worked for animal control from 1995 to 2001.
Zwagerman previously told the Des Moines Register in a statement her clients are pleased to resolve the case and they are hopeful the "settlement will implement much needed change within the police department and the city."
She said Monday that while those changes are not in the settlement agreement itself, the city has agreed to them, including:
A review by a third-party vendor of the city's harassment, discrimination, and retaliation policies and complaint procedures. The committee to procure that vendor may include one of the plaintiffs.
Joint investigations of internal police department harassment, discrimination, and retaliation complaints by the city's human resources office and the police department's Office of Professional Standards.
Training for Office of Professional Standards investigators on how to conduct harassment and discrimination investigations, which Zwagerman said had not previously been provided.
The addition of uniform questions to interviews for promotions and a scoring scale for each question, to avoid discrimination issues. Zwagerman said the questions would be up to the department but should be related to the specific job. She added that human resources would consult with the city's legal department about preserving notes from interviews.
What did the women allege in their lawsuit?
In court filings, the women alleged repeated instances of sexual harassment and discrimination from male colleagues and superiors, in some cases dating back to the 1990s. A judge in February ruled that many of the older allegations were too distant, and too far removed from other claims, to show evidence of "continuing violations" of the women's rights. But he denied judgment for the city, finding the women should be able to present allegations dating back to 2016 to the jury at trial.
Rhoads previously told the Register she even cut her hair short and stopped wearing makeup to appear less feminine and avoid harassment, but the lawsuit says an officer responded by calling her a "crazy f****** dyke.”
"I just wanted to be a police officer, I wanted to be good at my job, I wanted to be accepted," Rhoads told the Register in 2021. "I've had enough. Nothing's going to change — unless someone raises a little hell," she added.
Bastian previously said, "We're surrounded (by a) bunch of people that really care for you, but then we're also surrounded by people that are problematic. As much as that's a small number of people, it's hard to escape — it's overwhelming."
The city in court filings had admitted several officers had engaged in "inappropriate conduct" but said the city had responded appropriately to cases brought to its attention.
The city said in those filings in January 2022 that the officers' inappropriate conduct fell short of sexual harassment or gender discrimination. The city denied some male officers' specific alleged comments because it said it did not have information or knowledge about them.
More: Report calls for Des Moines police community review board, new policing policies
As of September 2022, 25% of the Des Moines Police Department's employees identified as a woman, according to a report from the consultant 21CP Solutions. The police department did not on Monday have a more up-to-date report online.
Phillip Sitter covers the western suburbs for the Des Moines Register. Phillip can be reached via email at psitter@gannett.com or on X, formerly known as Twitter, at @pslifeisabeauty.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Des Moines police employees get nearly $2.4 million settlement
