SALT LAKE CITY, UT – October 14, 2015 (Gephardt Daily) – Salt Lake City has settled a lawsuit filed by three female police officers who were sexually harassed by former Salt Lake Deputy Police Chief Rick Findlay. The women sued in September after the city and former Police Chief Chris Burbank failed to remove Findlay from his duties despite an Internal Affairs review concluded he had harassed the officers.
Ed Brass, the attorney for Robin Heiden, Melody Gray and Tiffany Commagere announced the settlement Wednesday afternoon saying the women will each receive $85,000 along with a promise that changes will be made in the department. One important change according to Brass “is the additional recruitment of female officers.” The percentage of women on the force dropped from 13 percent to under 10 percent while Burbank was chief.
Brass added that his clients will meet with interim Police Chief Mike Brown to talk about ways to limit future harassment cases and how to handle complaints and discipline if harassment is uncovered.
The harassment of the three officers began in 2011 when Findlay went through pictures on Gray’s phone and forwarded one of her and Heiden in bikinis to his own cellphone. Findlay showed the pictures to co-workers and others outside the department for the next three years and made unwanted advances toward both women. Findlay also claimed to have a nude picture of Commagere although that was never verified.
The accusations became public in May just as the primary race for Mayor of Salt Lake City was heating up. Salt Lake City Mayor Ralph Becker placed the blame for poor handling of the case on Burbank and forced his resignation in June. Becker came under fire for that action and placed a distant second to one of his challengers, Jackie Biskupski, in the primary. The general election on November 3 will decide whether Becker is unseated or wins re-election.
