Concord settles sex-bias suit with female cop

From the S.F. Chronicle,


(01-25) 12:13 PST CONCORD -- The highest-ranking woman in the Concord Police Department has reached a $150,000 settlement with the city over a lawsuit claiming that she was harassed and discriminated against because of her gender, attorneys in the case said Tuesday.

Lt. Robin Heinemann, a 22-year department veteran, sued the city in Contra Costa County Superior Court in 2009, saying that she and other female officers were powerless in a "de facto hierarchy" that was based upon a "presumption of male supremacy."

She said in the suit that the department was "rife with overt hostility and disparate treatment toward female officers."

Heinemann, 46, said she was the target of "trumped-up" internal-affairs investigations into whether she had been dishonest and disrespectful to superiors. Male officers who were accused of wrongdoing went unpunished, she said, especially if they were friends of Capt. Dan Siri and then-Chief David Livingston, who is now the county sheriff.

The city of Concord will pay $150,000 to Heinemann and her attorneys, Stan Casper and Toni Lisoni. It will also pay a confidential amount, including attorney's fees, to resolve Heinemann's workers' compensation claim that was based on the same accusations, city officials said.

In a statement, Concord officials said, "Lt. Heinemann has returned to active duty with the Concord Police Department, and both parties are confident that she will have a successful career serving the city and the law-enforcement needs of the community."

Heinemann was promoted to lieutenant in 2001, two years after the city paid $1.25 million to settle a previous sexual-discrimination lawsuit in which she and other current or former female officers were plaintiffs.

In November, Concord agreed to pay $750,000 to settle a sexual-harassment lawsuit in which former Officer Lisa Capocci accused her bosses of retaliating against her for complaining that a supervisor had sent "I love you" messages to her on a police-cruiser computer.

As part of Capocci's settlement, Casper and his law firm, which had filed all the cases against Concord, have agreed not to file any more lawsuits against the city that involve the Police Department.



Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/01/25/BAQB1HE0D7.DTL#ixzz1C962j5xp