Female Police Officer Files $1 Million Lawsuit Against City of Dallas for Gender Discrimination

A female Dallas police officer is asking for more than $1 million in a gender discrimination lawsuit against the city, claiming she was assaulted by a male superior.Michelle Herczeg, 36, filed the civil suit against the city of Dallas on Wednesday claiming she “was targeted for being a female officer and treated less favorably.”The suit claims Herczeg was retaliated against after she reported sexual harassment and illegal actions of other officers. She also claims she was not allowed to return to a crime reduction team after she alleged a senior officer assaulted her in May 2015.“Intimidation tactics were used as investigative tools to persuade Herczeg from seeking criminal relief against the officer who assaulted her,” the lawsuit says.The lawsuit does not describe the details of the assault.City officials did not respond to a request for comment.Herczeg, in the suit, claims her case is an example of broader gender discrimination and a male-centric culture in the Dallas Police Department.The suit claims the department “tolerates unprofessional behavior such as fraternization and unprofessional male and female working relationships based on an atmosphere which finds the male officer in charge, regardless of rank or ability.”Herczeg was hired by the Dallas Police Department in September 2008. She became a senior corporal in 2015. Prior to joining the police force, she served in the United States Air Force for eight years, the lawsuit says. The lawsuit says Herczeg graduated from the police academy in the top 5 percent of her class and says she sought other law enforcement training to become a drug recognition expert. In 2012, she successfully applied to join the North Central Crime Reduction Team, the lawsuit says. Herczeg says in the lawsuit that she was not allowed to return to that team after she reported the alleged assault. The suit also alleges that Herczeg was denied overtime patrol shifts, causing her and her family to suffer from "stress and mental anguish from loss in payment compensation." The culture, organizational policies and having a command staff that is predominantly male has promoted "an environment of gender inequality which incredibly continues even today," the suit says. "Herczog's case is not an isolated incident of discrimination, but part of a long history at the Dallas Police Department violating its own stated policies and permitting the discrimination of female officers," the suit says.   Continue reading...