The City of Seattle has agreed to pay $2.6 million to settle claims from four female Seattle police officers who accused the Seattle Police Department (SPD) of sexual harassment, gender discrimination, and fostering a hostile work environment.

The four women — Kame Spencer, Jean Gulpan, Valerie Carson and Lauren Truscott — filed the lawsuit in July 2024 after their previous tort claim reportedly went unanswered, accusing current and former department leaders of misconduct.

“We are happy to see the City of Seattle take accountability for what was a clear lapse in leadership by the previous administration,” Sumeer Singla, one of the attorneys representing the plaintiffs, stated. “We hope new leadership will improve working conditions for everyone within the Seattle Police Department. Our clients are pleased to put this episode behind them. They are committed to serving the City of Seattle and hope for successful careers within the Seattle Police Department.”

Their attorney, Sumeer Singla, spoke with KIRO host John Curley in March.

“One of our clients had got so bad that she had to be escorted out of the building, because one of the people that she’s accusing of harassing her was in the same building as her, and the department wasn’t helping her out, so she had to find her colleagues to escort her, escort her out of the building, so she wouldn’t run into this guy,” Singla said.

4 female officers filing lawsuit against Seattle, SPD

Among the names listed in the lawsuit was former Police Chief Adrian Diaz, citing him as, at least partially, responsible for creating the aforementioned hostile work environment while being a culprit of sexual and racial discrimination within the department.

Last month, Diaz revealed to “The Jason Rantz Show” on Seattle Red that he is gay and has struggled privately with his identity for the last several years.

“It’s a story that I’ve struggled with over the last four years, that I’m a gay Latino man,” Diaz said in an exclusive interview with Rantz. “You know, it doesn’t bother me. It’s more of my concern for my kids because they’re going to have to deal with a lot of the struggles that I might not have to deal with.”

The plaintiffs claimed the recent revelations by the former police chief are “inconsequential” to the case, according to KOMO News.

Alleged discrimination from SPD leadership

Officer Carson stated in the tort claim that Diaz “began to pay special attention” to her when she started with the Public Affairs Unit. Members of his security detail believed “he was trying to engage in a romantic relationship” with her because of their frequent conversations at work. The tort claim stated “the suspicion was warranted” because Diaz wouldn’t talk about work with her.

The tort claim also suggested that Diaz would try to see her undressed at the office. At the time, Carson was changing out of her uniform to civilian clothes in a cubicle at headquarters because she said there was no changing room for women on this floor. Carson also claimed that she feared Diaz would try to kiss her on New Year’s Eve while on duty with the chief, made “flattering comments” on her “leopard print outfits” and tried to help her with housework at her house.

“What he said in that interview bears witness to what my clients are saying in their complaint. It doesn’t matter if you’re gay or not. You can be a misogynist,” Singla said in an interview with KOMO News. “My client knew at the time that the interactions that she was having were that he was a married man with three children, who was making inappropriate comments towards her. There was no revelation of him being gay or realizing that he was being gay or anything like that.”

Lieutenant John O’Neill was also listed in the lawsuit for similar behavior. O’Neill runs 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.

“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,” 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.”

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