Two female Vancouver police officers allege their department’s leadership retaliated against them after they testified last year in a federal sex discrimination lawsuit.
Sgt. Julie Ballou and Detective Miranda Skeeter detailed their tort claim, which notifies the city of Vancouver of their intention to sue, in an Aug. 5 letter. They argue they’ve suffered lost employment opportunities and emotional distress since testifying during a November U.S. District Court trial.
Ballou had previously sued the department for allegations of sex discrimination and retaliation. In November, the jury found in favor of Ballou’s retaliation claims for her denial of a promotion, but it did not find the city discriminated against her on the basis of her sex.
Since then, department leadership — namely Chief Jeff Mori, who is set to retire in October, Assistant Chief Erica Nilsen, and now-Acting Chief Troy Price — “began a campaign of retaliation against (Ballou) and Detective Skeeter designed to punish them and others for providing trial testimony adverse to the city, and for continuing to discuss Ballou’s interpretation of the trial in the workplace,” according to the letter from the women’s lawyer, Matthew Ellis.
An attorney for the city, Sara Baynard-Cooke, said in an email the department takes allegations of gender discrimination and retaliation seriously.
In his letter, Ballou and Skeeter’s attorney said the department opened an internal affairs investigation against the women for an allegation of dishonesty for false testimony during the trial. The letter also states the city retaliated against other female trial witnesses, including two commanders who the attorney said “resigned employment to avoid any further retaliation.” Ellis did not specify in the letter what retaliation those women reportedly faced.
While the investigations against Ballou and Skeeter are pending, Ellis said the women have been placed on a “pre-Brady” list and the department has notified the state training commission of the dishonesty allegations.
The Brady List, or “potential impeachment disclosure” list, which derives its name from a 1963 Supreme Court ruling, is a database of law enforcement misconduct maintained by the Clark County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office.
The attorney said men in the department who are also under investigation for dishonesty are not on any “pre-Brady” list and the department had not notified the state of the allegations against them. Ellis said it’s all an effort to get Ballou and Skeeter decertified as law enforcement officers and destroy their careers.
The city’s attorney said the department has notified the prosecutor’s office of all allegations of dishonesty and that the prosecutor’s office decides who is placed on a “pre-Brady” list. Baynard-Cooke also said the state training commission’s instructions about when to report misconduct allegations changed in March and no longer requires a department to provide notice of a complaint until after any initial disciplinary action.
The women also allege agency leadership has rewarded those who testified favorably for the city during the trial. According to the letter, Ballou was next in line for a promotion to a lieutenant position, but leadership instead promoted a woman who was not on the promotional list, had less experience than Ballou and had testified during trial that she did not find the department’s culture to be discriminatory.
“The city should have left well enough alone regarding the trial,” Ellis wrote in the letter. “Instead, Skeeter and Ballou intend to bring tort claims for damages against the city and its agents for the retaliatory (internal affairs) investigation against them and for the retaliatory notices to the Clark County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office and the Criminal Justice Training Commission.”
Baynard-Cooke said the new lieutenant’s promotion was based on her hard work and skill and that the tort claim “wrongfully attempts to discredit the good work and professionalism of one of VPD’s female leaders.”
“VPD is confident that it will prevail in any future lawsuit brought by Sgt. Ballou or Det. Skeeter,” Baynard-Cooke said in the email.
