WEST DES MOINES

Former officer settles discrimination suit against West Des Moines

Kim Norvell
knorvell@dmreg.com

The city of West Des Moines has settled with one of three women who filed a sex discrimination lawsuit against the city and police Chief Shaun LaDue.

Chief Shaun LaDue with the West Des Moines police.

Carol Gass, a former animal control officer who jointly filed the lawsuit with two other employees in May 2015, claimed she was mistreated by LaDue and other police department employees because of her gender. She was awarded $30,000 and agreed to dismiss LaDue from the lawsuit as part of the settlement.

West Des Moines Spokeswoman Lucinda Stephenson said the city's insurance company encouraged the settlement. The company will pay the claim, $4,000 of which will go to Gass' attorneys. Gass will be paid the rest.

"Settling the lawsuit helps protect taxpayers from the financial risk of a long and potentially costly trial," Stephenson said in an e-mailed statement. "City officials and our attorneys vigorously deny the allegations in the lawsuit. We look forward to presenting our case involving the other two plaintiffs in court."

Gass resigned in July after 13 years with the department. The two other plaintiffs are scheduled for trial on Oct. 31. Sgt. Tanya Zaglauer Schmell is still employed with the police department. Alice Wisner, a crime analyst, resigned in September 2014 after 14 years with the department.

The women claimed in court documents LaDue dished out unwarranted discipline or promoted less qualified men to jobs the women deserved. Gass claimed she was "verbally reprimanded" for an incident in which her male counterpart was also involved, but not equally disciplined. When she told a human resources administrator she felt LaDue was treating her differently, nothing was done to investigate, Gass claimed in the lawsuit.

Prior to the lawsuit, complaints filed by the women to the city's human resources department were investigated internally by attorney Jim Hanks of the Ahlers and Cooney law firm, which the city uses for employment-related matters. The investigation found there was no basis for the complaints, City Manager Tom Hadden said in a previous interview with the Register.

In court filings, Gass explained how much she loved working for the West Des Moines Police Department for almost a decade "without any issue." But, things changed in 2012 when LaDue was hired as chief, Gass claimed. Gass felt like she was being criticized, reprimanded and disciplined for "conduct that was perfectly acceptable from males in my position," she wrote.

She claimed the stresses of continued discrimination led to lost sleep, weight fluctuations and worsening migraines.

Wisner and Zaglauer Schmell have not reached a settlement with the city. They are asking for full and fair compensation for their injury and damage caused by the workplace treatment, including mental and emotional distress, fear, anguish, humiliation, betrayal, medical expenses, lost wages, benefits and future earnings.

The West Des Moines City Council approved the settlement at Monday's meeting.