City of Gilroy Settles Lawsuit Filed By Ex Police Dept Dispatcher

GILROY, CA -- The City of Gilroy has reached an agreement to settle a lawsuit brought by a former police department dispatcher who was terminated in March 2016 and later claimed that she was subjected "to a culture of sexual activity," according to the city.

The former employee, Patricia Harrell, will receive $25,000.

Harrell filed a lawsuit against the city and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees union in August 2017 alleging in part, that she was fired in retaliation for her refusal to condone or engage in the culture of sexual misconduct.

In her lawsuit, Harrell alleged a range of sexual misconduct, including police officers having sex with members of the Gilroy Explorers, a group for 14 to 21 year olds; sexually explicit conversations between employees at work; supervisors watching pornography in front of their employees outside the workplace; and nudity at work-sponsored social events, among other things.

Harrell alleges that she was investigated without justification again in 2015, with the investigation being related to Harrell's alleged mistreatment of her trainees and an alleged discriminatory remark, in which Harrell commented to one of her Latina trainees that the trainee "might be mistaken for the cleaning lady."

Harrell denied that she mistreated her trainees and argues that the remark was taken out of context. Harrell said that she herself is half Salvadoran and half Native American, and had told the trainee that Harrell had been mistaken for a cleaning lady when at a public safety conference in Colorado. When the trainee commented that people "sometimes look[ed] at [her] funny" in her gated community, Harrell commented that perhaps the other residents mistook the trainee for the cleaning lady.

Harrell was fired after the investigation, but had claimed that her termination was retaliatory.

The settlement, which the city announced May 7, includes the dismissal of Harrell’s lawsuit and release of all claims against the city, in exchange for a $25,000 payment. The city has also agreed to permit Harrell to change her employment status from termination to resignation.

"Although the City has maintained all along that Ms. Harrell’s case had no merit and felt strongly as discovery progressed that the evidence did not support her remaining claims, it decided to settle the case at this juncture on terms it viewed as exceedingly favorable to the City when weighed against the cost of continuing litigation of the case," the City of Gilroy said in a statement announcing the settlement.