Female Police Officers File Lawsuit Against Washington D.C. Police Department

A group of former and current black female officers filed a class action lawsuit against the Washington D.C. police yesterday. In the suit they claim they were subject to racial and sexual discrimination, a hostile workplace and a culture of intimidation. The 10 women say that while on the job with the Metropolitan Police Department, they were treated with contempt and subjected to a male-dominated ‘culture of race and sex discrimination’ and ‘intense pervasive retaliation’ when they complained about it.

Nine of the ten women are current and former members of the force with at least 15 years of experience. The other served for five years and was once awarded police officer of the year. Seven of the women are currently MPD officers and three are former officers. A current assistant police chief, lieutenant and sergeant are among them.They are seeking $100 million in compensatory damages and request a special master to be appointed to overhaul the department’s personnel practices and the Equal Employment Opportunity division.