MOUNDSVILLE – A former Moundsville police officer claims she was subjected to harassment and ridicule based on her gender for her entire 12-year career with the force.
Brittany Lewis filed her complaint August 23 in Marshall Circuit Court against the City of Moundsville.
"Every employee has a right to a workplace free from discrimination," attorney Teresa Toriseva told The West Virginia Record. "Ongoing gender discrimination is prohibited by law. No employee’s lifelong career path should be interrupted and blockaded by male superiors refusing to provide the employee with the same training, employment benefits and opportunity for advancement solely because that employee is a woman.
Toriseva
"In addition to that, a female employee should not be subjected to discipline for identical conduct for which her male counterparts are not disciplined."
According to the complaint, Lewis joined the Moundsville PD on June 13, 2008. She said the inequities began soon thereafter. She details a foot chase she took part in during her first year on the job.
“Plaintiff reports she was easily able to keep up with the suspect and even scaled a six-foot fence as she raced to apprehend the suspect,” the complaint states. “Plaintiff’s coworker, Sgt. Kosek who has since been promoted to Lieutenant, made a comment to plaintiff that he was surprised she was able to keep up.
“Plaintiff reports that this is only one of several times that Lt. Kosek had told her directly or insinuated that female officers were not as good or as strong as male officers.”
Lewis says another male officer once said he wanted to buy her a smaller gun and special ammo because she is a woman.
She says she also had to adhere to guidelines and procedures that none of her male counterparts had to follow, such as starting and ending each shift at the station. She questioned Kosek about it.
“Kosek told plaintiff he did not care what everyone else did but she would be there (to start her shift from the office),” the complaint states, adding that she was written up for violating this mandate.
She also said she was verbally reprimanded when she brought a Tupperware book to a dispatcher “although other officers and city employees regularly brought in fundraiser material to sell at work.”
Other examples listed in the complaint:
* Lewis asked to speak to City Council in 2019 regarding pay raises. She was the only sergeant not included in the presentation.
* She has asked to attend the FBI National Academy Conference several times, but never has been taken by the police chief.
* She has asked to be nominated to participate in the FBI Academy, but the police chief never has done so and has nominated male sergeants.
* Lewis wanted to become an instructor for other officers and has asked to train to do so.
* She signed up for additional shift work, but her name was covered with correction fluid and a male officer was listed to work the shift.
* She was told she couldn’t wear a “Thin Blue Line” headband because the chief said it looks like a “skull cap” and was not uniform. But Lewis says male officers are allowed to wear “snakeskin camo” hats, customizable outer vests and other shirts that aren’t uniform.
The final straw, according to the complaint was last summer when she planned to call off for her shift for her birthday. She and her boyfriend had traveled to Elkins for dinner. She says she let her work partner know the day before she was calling off, which she says was the regularly accepted method used by male officers.
“After calling off, plaintiff learned that she would be written up when she returned to work,” the complaint states. “Instead of accepting another undeserved write up, plaintiff submitted her resignation and left her career as a Moundsville police officer.
“The constant harassment, ridicule, and unequal treatment that plaintiff has been subjected to by her employer have had deleterious effects on her mental and physical health to include, depression, anxiety, loss of appetite and difficulty sleeping.”
After she and her family relocated to Elkins, Lewis applied with the Randolph County Sheriff’s Department. When it reached out to the Moundsville Police Department, it was told no training records or certifications for Lewis were on file. Instead, only disciplinary documentation was on file.
“Thankfully, plaintiff kept copies of all training records, awards, and/or certifications which she could submit to Randolph County,” the complaint states.
Lewis accuses the city of gender discrimination, disparate treatment employment discrimination, constructive discharge, intentional infliction of emotional distress and retaliation.
She seeks compensatory and punitive damages, and she also seeks injunctive relief to require anti-discriminatory training for all current and future Moundsville PD employees.
Lewis is being represented by Toriseva, Joshua Miller and Michael Kuhn of Toriseva Law in Wheeling. The case has been assigned to Circuit Judge Jeffrey Cramer.
Last year, the 19-member Moundsville Police Department was the butt of some internet jokes when it obtained a mine-resistant vehicle designed to protect soldiers from roadside IEDs through a government program that allows departments to obtain military surplus items by paying only for shipping and any needed repairs.
Marshall Circuit Court case number 21-C-69
