Several Seattle Police Department women employees filed a tort claim Thursday for $5 million, alleging sexual discrimination and harassment by police Chief Adrian Diaz and other department leaders.
The claim, filed on behalf of four women in the department against SPD and the city of Seattle, follows a February report that described female employees’ anonymous allegations of sexual harassment and a “good old boys club” that discouraged women from climbing the ranks.
In January, a 27-year veteran of the department filed a lawsuit against SPD and Diaz alleging gender, wage and job discrimination. Deanna Nollette, assistant chief over criminal investigations, alleged Diaz has a history of misogyny and retaliated against her for applying for chief. In November, Detective Denise “Cookie” Bouldin filed a lawsuit alleging she faced daily racism and gender discrimination during her 43 years with SPD.
The allegations in the claim filed Thursday by four other women point to the “primary perpetrators” being Diaz, Lt. John O’Neil and human resource manager Rebecca McKechnie.
“Chief Diaz seemingly engaged in predatory and discriminatory behavior,” the claim reads. “Even worse, … as the Department is actively trying to recruit women into the Department, it is actively punishing women for refusing to submit to male supervisors’ bullying and harassing behavior.”
The claim comes after 10 women spoke with radio station KUOW about sexism and harassment within SPD.
Diaz’s attorney, Ted Buck, said in a statement Friday that the claims against the chief are false. “As a Hispanic American with decades of experience in law enforcement, Chief Diaz has faced significant discrimination throughout his career,” the statement read. “He well understands the negative impact it can have both personally and professionally.”
Buck said that based on that experience, Diaz has addressed discrimination and is proud of the department’s record of addressing racism and sexism in his time as chief.
“One would think that the department would take that seriously or the chief of police would take that seriously and address that issue. … That didn’t happen,” said the employees’ attorney, Sumeer Singla. “So all of a sudden, my four clients at this point [are] seeing this culture of misogyny and sexism not only now being publicized, but also seeing the department actively refusing to do anything about it. They have now taken the next step, being brave enough to put their names out there and tell their stories.”
O’Neil currently oversees the Public Affairs Unit. The claim alleges he engaged in “grooming and predatory” behavior when he was a sergeant toward multiple women, including Officer Kame Spencer. During a 2021 meeting, according to the claim, O’Neil placed his leg against Spencer’s and suggested she move in with him. When Spencer stated the suggestion was inappropriate, the claimants said, O’Neil responded to the effect of, “What’s inappropriate about it?”
“She was hoping that SPD would stop Sgt. O’Neil’s predatory and abusive behavior she felt he engaged in towards her. Unfortunately, Ms. Spencer was met with extreme disappointment,” the claim reads.
Singla said Diaz “allowed [O’Neil] to exist in that culture.”
“Are you supporting the women who are coming out and telling you that they’re being abused and harassed, or are you supporting the person who’s being accused of abusing and harassing?” Singla said.
The claim alleges that one officer, Judinna Gulpan, could not take a position as a sergeant, despite passing the exam, because of discrimination.
In September 2022, the claim alleges, O’Neil invited Gulpan to Las Vegas during the first week of the NFL season. The trip with other SPD officers was “invite only,” O’Neil said. Gulpan noticed most of the officers were with their partners on the trip, but Gulpan and O’Neil were some of the few single people there, according to the claim.
O’Neil allegedly told Gulpan the entire group would join them at the hotel to watch a football game, but no one showed up, and Gulpan watched the game and went to dinner alone with O’Neil, according to the claim. At dinner, O’Neil discussed his dating history and said something to the effect of “I’m really good at sex,” according to the claim. He was Gulpan’s supervisor at the time.
When they returned, there was a rumor in the department that Gulpan and O’Neil had slept together on the trip, according to the claim. Gulpan alleges that when she confronted O’Neil about the rumor, he said something like, “that would be a feather in my cap,” according to the claim.
Gulpan later joined the Public Affairs Unit, according to the complaint, and says male officers within the department received preferential treatment, including getting time off whenever they requested it. O’Neil later took Gulpan to dinner and told her she was being transferred from Public Affairs, saying the men in the office could not handle “female moods,” according to the claim. O’Neil posted negative reviews about Gulpan in an internal system, resulting in her getting passed over for a promotion to sergeant, according to the claim.
The claim alleges Diaz and McKechnie, the HR manager, disregarded O’Neil’s alleged behavior. Diaz said “there are certain buttons to avoid touching,” according to the claim.
McKechnie routinely dismissed complaints and was “victim blaming” the women, the claim says.
In December, the claim alleges McKechnie told Gulpan in a meeting she should look at O’Neil as a “piece of meat,” and that Gulpan needed to be “like a puppy” to him, anticipating his needs so as to be fed. Days later, the complaint says, O’Neil filed a complaint with the Office of Police Accountability against Gulpan, “weaponizing” the process.
Gulpan was granted a transfer out of Public Affairs in February and now works in patrol. The claim notes she is now not allowed to take a position as acting sergeant, despite passing the sergeant’s exam.
Chief Diaz, the claim says, seemed to “groom” one officer, Valerie Carson. After she joined the Public Affairs Unit, Carson alleges Diaz offered to replace the windows at her home and made comments about her attire that made Carson feel uncomfortable.
Carson regularly changed out of her uniform into civilian clothes in one of the cubicles during her shift, as there were no changing rooms for women on the floor. The claim alleges: “All other officers would alert Ms. Carson before walking by the cubicle to make sure they did not catch her changing. Chief Diaz, on the other hand, would simply walk into Ms. Carson’s space. … Ms. Carson believes that Chief Diaz did this because he was hoping to catch her changing her clothes.”
The fourth claimant, Lauren Truscott, reviewed the transcripts of interviews from several complaints that were filed by and against O’Neil and realized he “displayed a pattern of grooming, predatory, abusive, and harassing behavior,” according to the claim. Truscott filed a complaint against O’Neil, and he has allegedly filed several complaints against Truscott.
“If [O’Neil] has a complaint filed against him, he will turn around [and] file a complaint,” the claim reads. “Sgt. O’Neil has weaponized the complaint process, and is assisted by Ms. McKechnie who … blames the victims of his abuse.”
In a statement Thursday night, Mayor Bruce Harrell’s spokesperson, Jamie Housen, said the office has not “officially received the claim” but takes “allegations of this nature seriously.”
“Mayor Harrell is committed to building a police service that is representative of our community, including ensuring women are empowered and able to succeed,” Housen said.
Housen said the mayor’s office recently transferred an employee to SPD to address concerns raised in the February report.
When asked to respond to the allegations Thursday evening, SPD said in a statement, “The department will not respond to the personal attacks rooted in rough estimations of hearsay reflecting, at their core, individual perceptions of victimhood that are unsupported and — in some instances — belied by the comprehensive investigations that will no doubt ultimately be of record.”
The statement said the department and Diaz “are proud of the advancements made by women in the department” and that SPD is committed to addressing challenges women face in the workplace.
“While individual grievances may drive headlines, the Department is confident that the record, in its fullness, will prove them unsupported,” the statement read.
“The reality is a modern big city chief will always be the target of disgruntled, dissatisfied claimants,” Diaz’s attorney said in his statement, adding that Diaz is “prepared to allow a fair, thorough review of the evidence to establish the truth about these allegations.”