April 27, 2017
City News Service
A female police officer and the city of Los Angeles tentatively settled her lawsuit in which she alleged she was told by a male supervisor to dress more provocatively when presenting cases to the District Attorney’s Office and also to have the “moral courage to lie.”
Lawyers for Officer Laura Jackman filed a notice of conditional settlement on Monday with Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Monica Bachner. No terms were divulged and it was not immediately clear if the settlement is subject to City Council approval.
Jackman filed her lawsuit in October 2014, alleging she was denied promotions and subjected to other punishment when she complained about her treatment. Her lawsuit alleged harassment, retaliation and discrimination based on her gender.
According to the complaint, Jackman joined the LAPD in 1998 and received praise within the department and by private citizens for her work. However, in 2012 she began being subjected to “numerous acts of gender-based and sexual- based harassment,” the suit stated.
While working in a gang task force at the Olympic Division, a male supervisor told her she reminded him of his ex-wife, that she was the “girlfriend of the unit” and that she needed to dress in a more feminine way when presenting cases and/or search warrants, according to her complaint.
“On one occasion (Jackman) was told to dress provocatively because the (prosecutor) that was going to file the case was known as a womanizer and it would help ensure the case was filed,” according to the lawsuit.
The supervisor also assigned Jackman menial tasks and administrative work, explaining that she “needed special treatment because you are a mother,” the suit stated.
When Jackman challenged the supervisor’s actions, he told her if she did not like what he was telling her “she could just leave,” the suit stated.
Jackman’s boss also told her “on various occasions that she needed the moral courage to lie,” the suit stated, without indicating about what Jackman was supposed to lie about.
Jackman also alleged the supervisor reduced her overtime hours from 22 to nine without justification after she worked on a joint task force with the Drug Enforcement Administration.
Jackman became the only female in her unit at the Olympic Division in August 2012 after the only other woman left, the suit stated.
On one occasion, the supervisor told Jackman to take a search warrant to another judge after the first judge rejected it, the suit stated. When Jackman said she was uneasy about doing such a thing without revising the warrant first, her boss allegedly said, “Don’t worry little girl, we won’t make you do anything that you are uncomfortable with.”
Although Jackman was transferred to the Wilshire Division in January 2013, she continued to be harassed, this time by female captains who denied her assignments and promotions to which she was entitled, according to the lawsuit.
She was transferred to the Rampart Division in May 2013, but in early 2014 was demoted from the violent crime impact team and assigned to patrol duty, the suit stated. No reason for the transfer was cited in the suit.