Female Seattle police officers alleging discrimination sue city, department

Four Seattle Police Department employees sued the force Tuesday after the city failed to respond to their claims of sexual discrimination and harassment filed.

The four women employees — Judinna Gulpan, Valerie Carson, Kame Spencer and Lauren Truscott — in April filed a tort claim for $5 million alleging sexual discrimination and harassment by then-police Chief Adrian Diaz and other department leaders. After a 60-day period for the city to attempt to resolve the dispute, the lawsuit was filed with additional claims about the women experiencing retaliation for their legal action. Diaz was removed as chief in late May.

The allegations, among others filed by department employees, have rocked the force and led to the end of Diaz’s tenure as chief and replacement with interim Chief Sue Rahr. Diaz is still employed with the department, though his rank, salary or duties are unclear. He would work on “special assignments,” Harrell said last month while announcing Diaz would no longer serve as chief. Diaz two weeks later publicly announced he is on the shortlist for a chief position in Austin, Texas.

In a statement, mayoral spokesperson Jamie Housen said the city could not comment on pending litigation.

He also noted Kerry Keefe, who previously served as Harrell’s director of Public Safety, moved to SPD in April as director of program development including matters related to women in policing. Harrell commissioned an independent, external investigation to review the allegations and concerns about SPD, which Housen said Wednesday is ongoing.

The SPD public affairs unit did not respond to a request for comment Wednesday.

Tuesday’s suit reiterated many of the claims filed two months ago: that Diaz engaged in “predatory and discriminatory behavior” and allowed a culture of misogyny and sexism to permeate the department along with other department leaders, namely Lt. John O’Neil and human resource manager Rebecca McKechnie.

The lawsuit adds that the women have allegedly only experienced further retaliation since the tort claim was filed, and states additional Office of Police Accountability complaints were filed against the plaintiffs by staff members who are friendly with Diaz.

“Several SPD command staff and Assistant Chiefs attended roll call meetings in various precincts and told officers something to the effect, ‘don’t believe the lies being spread by individuals who hate the Department; only believe what comes from SPD command staff,’” the lawsuit stated.

The lawsuit claimed O’Neil, who oversees the Public Affairs Unit, engaged in “grooming and predatory” behavior toward multiple women. During a 2021 meeting, he allegedly placed his leg against Spencer’s and suggested she move in with him.

The lawsuit alleges another officer, Judinna Gulpan, could not take a position as a sergeant despite passing the exam because of discrimination.

In 2022, the lawsuit alleges, O’Neil invited Gulpan to Las Vegas during the first week of the NFL season. Upon arrival, Gulpan noticed most of the officers were with their partners on the trip, but Gulpan and O’Neil were some of the few single people there, according to the lawsuit.

O’Neil allegedly told Gulpan the entire group would join them at the hotel to watch a football game, but no one showed up, and Gulpan watched the game and went to dinner alone with O’Neil, according to the lawsuit. At dinner, O’Neil discussed his dating history and said something to the effect of “I’m really good at sex,” according to the lawsuit. He was Gulpan’s supervisor at the time.

When they returned, there was a rumor in the department that Gulpan and O’Neil had slept together on the trip, according to the claim. Gulpan alleges that when she confronted O’Neil about the rumor, he said something like, “that would be a feather in my cap,” according to the lawsuit.

Gulpan later joined the Public Affairs Unit, according to the lawsuit, and says male officers within the department received preferential treatment, including getting time off whenever they requested it. O’Neil later took Gulpan to dinner and told her she was being transferred from Public Affairs, saying the men in the office could not handle “female moods,” according to the claim.

The lawsuit alleges Diaz and McKechnie, the HR manager, disregarded O’Neil’s alleged behavior. O’Neil was later promoted, and the lawsuit stated Diaz “rewarded and condoned Sgt. O’Neil’s behavior.” McKechnie routinely dismissed complaints and engaged in “victim blaming” the women, the lawsuit says.

Gulpan was granted a transfer out of Public Affairs in February and now works in patrol. The lawsuit notes she is now not allowed to take a position as acting sergeant, despite passing the sergeant’s exam.

The fourth plaintiff, Lt. Lauren Truscott, reviewed the transcripts of interviews from several complaints that were filed by and against O’Neil and realized he “displayed a pattern of grooming, predatory, abusive, and harassing behavior,” filing a complaint against him in turn.

One officer claimed that as chief, Diaz seemed to “groom” her. After she joined the Public Affairs Unit, Valerie Carson alleged Diaz offered to replace the windows at her home and made comments about her attire that made Carson feel uncomfortable, including walking into her cubicle when she was changing.

Following the tort claim’s filing and his removal as chief, Diaz again denied the allegations against him and announced he was gay in an interview with The Jason Rantz Show. Tuesday’s lawsuit states Carson did not know Diaz was gay.

“Diaz’s sexual orientation is inconsequential in this case because an employee’s impression of the advances by a supervisor must be considered, not the intent or sexual orientation of the offending supervisor,” the lawsuit states.

Diaz told Rantz during the interview: “Just because you’re a gay man doesn’t mean that you can’t be a misogynist, but I know who I am and I know what I’ve done. And I know that I’ve been always true to myself and always treated people well and respectfully.”

During that interview, Diaz also expressed concern about how SPD’s investigative bodies — namely the Office of Police Accountability — can be weaponized by department employees. The lawsuit filed Tuesday claimed O’Neil repeatedly “weaponized” the process to target the plaintiffs.

“Mr. Diaz knew that the system can be weaponized, which is partially what our clients are claiming, but he did nothing to fix the system when he was the Chief of Police for four years,” the plaintiffs’ attorney, Sumeer Singla, said in a statement. “Two weeks after he was forced to step down as the Chief of Police, he is now complaining about the system that he had the power to fix all along.”

A February report described female employees’ anonymous allegations of sexual harassment and a “good old boys club” that discouraged women from climbing the ranks. A month prior, Deanna Nollette, a 27-year veteran of the department filed a lawsuit against SPD and Diaz alleging gender, wage and job discrimination. And a month before that, Detective Denise “Cookie” Bouldin filed a lawsuit alleging she faced daily racism and gender discrimination during her 43 years with SPD. And in May, 30-year veteran of the department Eric Greening alleged in a lawsuit Diaz retaliated against him when Greening brought up concerns about discrimination.