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On Tuesday, September 28th, 2021, a lawsuit was filed against the Des Moines Police Department (DMPD) by five female officers and employees alleging sexual harassment and gender discrimination. The lawsuit was filed by Tracy Rhoads, Jessica Bastian, Shannon Duffy, Megan Burnhardt and Cindy Donahue; however, the road to get here was not easy. These women have been allegedly harassed and discriminated against several times by officers, and this lawsuit is their last hope for change.   

The lawsuit alleges that the city and department have known about and failed to respond to sexual harassment complaints and have violated their rights as women and as equal members of the police department over the span of more than 30 years. In a Des Moines Register article, the city denied all allegations, claiming they are. “not accurate.”   

There seems to be a pattern within the system to allow officers immunity to consequence. Officers can resign or retire without any repercussions, allowing them to maintain eligibility for their retirement and pension benefits under the Municipal Fire and Police Retirement System of Iowa.  

 This suit is not the first of its kind. Many attempts have been made towards the DMPD to bring about change within the department, like pressuring them to be accountable for their actions, or lack thereof.  

According to Ben Lynch, of Ben Lynch Law, this is a battle that may never be truly won through lawsuits. Lynch is a “lawyer for the people,” practicing in areas like criminal law, civil rights, and employment law. In his professional career, Lynch has had several lawsuits similar to this against the DMPD. He says that the discovery process is the most difficult part because the police department can withhold information. Disciplinary records, personnel files or investigation into misconduct can be difficult to obtain, even with a court order.  

In most situations like this, the police department can request what is called a protective order, a court order saying that the other party will not use the information granted to them in any other way outside of the lawsuit, such as using the information in another lawsuit or giving the information to the media.   

Police officers are also granted protections that other defendants do not have, such as qualified immunity. Qualified immunity, according to Congressional Research Service, is a “judicially created legal doctrine that shields government officials performing discretionary duties from civil liability in cases involving the deprivation of statutory or constitutional rights.” Essentially, this protects government officials, including police officers, from “insubstantial claims” made against them, to avoid a lawsuit. Qualified immunity provides immunity from civil damages and prevents the accused party from having to defend liability.   

In his professional efforts against the DMPD, there hasn’t been much Lynch could do as far as making change within the department.   

“They don’t ever accept responsibility; they don’t ever change their policies. They just fight the lawsuits and deny everything. That’s their M.O.,” Lynch said.   

In his experience, the best course of action in cases like this would not be to go after the individual officers, but to go after the department. However, these lawsuits seem to have the same outcome each time.   

After cases like these close, Lynch is frequently asked questions like, ‘Did the cops change their policy? Did they apologize? Did they get fired? Did they lose their pension?’ The answer to all of these questions is unfortunately always a “no.”   

Lynch said that even if the plaintiff has a great trial outcome and wins, the city pays the settlement and will not admit liability or fault. The cycle continues to repeat again and again because they are never held accountable, and because the laws have been and continue to be written in their favor.   

Lynch’s approach to making change starts with grassroots movements.  

“Writing letters, voting, protesting, speaking up, showing up at the city council meetings, getting kicked out of the city council meetings; I think all of that stuff is super important and I think that does a lot of good.”   

Lynch compared the idea of these efforts to the Black Lives Matter movement. Speaking up and protesting helped get the ball rolling on change within the police system. In June of 2020, Governor Kim Reynolds (R) signed into law the Iowa Police Reform Bill, banning most choke holds as well as addressing officer misconduct, including an officer quitting to avoid being fired for misconduct.   

Lynch also expressed his gratitude to the press for shining a light on cases like this one, helping to push them along to hopefully make some change.   

“You gotta keep the pressure on them, that’s how change happens,” Lynch said.   

Jill Zwagerman, of Newkirk Zwagerman Law, is the lawyer on this specific case against the DMPD and has been practicing law since 2004. Like Lynch, Zwagerman’s areas of practice include civil rights and employment discrimination, as well as sexual harassment/assault, equal pay, and Title IX. She agrees that going after the department is the best approach. Although this does not absolve the individual officers from their actions, Zwagerman said it’s the employer’s responsibility to prevent harassment in the workplace. Because the department has failed to hold officers accountable for their actions for decades, the individual officers are “a product of their environment,” according to Zwagerman. Because everything these officers do falls within the purview of the employer, they are the ones responsible to dictate what employees do and do not do.  

According to Zwagerman, the focus of this lawsuit is bigger than getting these women financial compensation. Under the Iowa Civil Rights Act, Zwagerman and these five women are allowed to sue for changes. They are filing for what is called “equitable relief,” which is a court-granted remedy that requires one party to stop participating in an action and orders them to implement a new action for the benefit of the other party. If equitable relief is granted in this case, Zwagerman will be looking to change policies, procedures and disciplinary actions within the DMPD. They will also ask that some people be removed from supervisory positions. The hope is to acquire a different entity all together to handle how sexual harassment is being addressed, and to get help for those being sexually harassed.   

Zwagerman stressed the importance of an outside perspective on civil rights issues, as opposed to handling them internally. Police officers investigating their own upholds the endless cycle of victim blaming and sweeping allegations under the rug.   

“It’s a brotherhood, a very strong brotherhood. Not a sisterhood, it is a brotherhood with police officers,” Zwagerman said.  

While these five women can feel good about change within the department for future harassment, there is no way to undo the harm that has been done to them. Which is why on top of equitable relief, the lawsuit is also suing for financial compensation for these women.   

“Money is the only way the victims get compensated,” Zwagerman said.   

The law allows for lawsuits to go back and recover for sexual harassment if it has been a continuing violation. Violations against Rhoads have been occurring since the 1990’s, meaning there have been allegations stacking up for more than 30 years. Harassment like this, according to Zwagerman, breaks a person down, changing them without even noticing.   

“One instance is more than enough to put them in a tailspin and uproot their life,” Zwagerman said.   

These five women are still hard at work and have a tremendous support system backing them up.   

“They have a ton of male officers who support them,” Zwagerman said. “If they didn’t, I don’t know if they would’ve been able to go through with filing the lawsuit.”   

According to Zwagerman, female officers are constantly being doubted and having to prove that they are two to three times the officer as the men.   

“When that ability is taken away and you’re treated like less of a human being or a second-class citizen—pick all the terms you want—it becomes a defining characteristic,” she said.  

The timeline for this case to see trial is about 18 months to two years, giving them ample time to prepare. Zwagerman is passionate about bringing the pattern of harassment and discrimination to light, and helping these women navigate their case through the court system. She believes this is their last resort to change the way they are treated in the department.   

“There’s no way these women are ever going to be treated as equals, (or) that they’re going to be judged on their work as opposed to their sex,” Zwagerman said. “They are always going to be looked at as a lesser officer, and that has to change.”   

Aside from the courtroom, there are also ways for civilians to request information. The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) grants the public the right to access the records of any federal agency, so long as they do not fall within the nine exemptions. Anyone can request information such as body cam and dash cam footage, disciplinary records, investigations into misconduct, and more. Visit FOIA.gov to fill out a form, and your request will be reviewed to determine whether to withhold or disclose the information.   

A person experiencing discrimination in areas including employment, housing, credit, public accommodations, and education may file a complaint with the Iowa Civil Rights Commission (ICRC). Charles Hill, Interim Executive Director with the ICRC, explained the process of filing a complaint.  

A complaint must be filed within 300 days of the alleged incident occurring and is filed with the Commission when it is received. A copy of the complaint is sent to the Respondent, and a questionnaire is sent to both parties. Commission staff will review the provided evidence and determine whether the evidence merits further investigation or not. The process takes an average of 6 months to complete. Parties have the right-to-sue 60 days after the complaint is on file at the ICRC.   

“Our mission is to end discrimination in the State of Iowa,” Hill said. 

For more information on filing a complaint, visit icrc.iowa.gov or call 515-281-4121