Coming on the heels of the recent whistleblower settlement, the city of Abilene is once again being sued by someone who previously worked for the Abilene Police Department.

Patricia Anderson filed a lawsuit March 1, alleging she was fired after she reported sexual harassment by a male Abilene police officer to a female co-worker. She also alleges that while both she and the female coworker were fired, the male officer was not.

Anderson’s petition seeks over $1 million from the city, according to court documents.

The city replied April 12, stating a “general denial” of the allegations.

When asked to comment further on Thursday, communications officials issued a statement: “The City of Abilene does not comment on litigation matters.”

Fired in retaliation?

Anderson was employed by APD as an emergency dispatcher for over five years after starting work in July 2017.

In October 2022, she was promoted to telecommunications dispatch supervisor.

By February 2023, however, Anderson was terminated in what she deems “retaliation for her internal reporting of sexual harassment against a female coworker by a police officer,” according to allegations in the lawsuit.

According to Texas labor laws, an employer commits an unlawful employment practice if the employer “retaliates or discriminates against a person” who files a charge or a complaint.

‘Failure to report sexual harassment’

A female coworker reported to Anderson in December 2022 that she “received an inappropriate romantic overture from a male police officer in the Abilene Police Department,” according to Anderson’s lawsuit.

That coworker told Anderson that she had been “afraid to report the incident” even though it had occurred four to six weeks prior.

Anderson subsequently reported the alleged sexual harassment to a male supervisor.

During the first week of January 2023, Anderson and the male supervisor went to then-Assistant Police Chief Doug Wrenn to report the alleged harassment.

APD subsequently “conducted an internal investigation,” according to the lawsuit. Anderson cooperated with the investigation, providing testimony that supported the accusations of sexual harassment.

The investigation found the male police officer had in fact “made romantic overtures to the female employees at work” and sent photos of himself being sexually aroused in uniform via What’s App, according to allegations in the lawsuit. The officer had also “attempted to delete evidence from his phone.”

Following the internal investigation, Anderson and the female employee were fired.

Anderson “was fired for ‘failure to report sexual harassment in the workplace,'” according to a police department internal report cited in the lawsuit.

The male police officer in question “continues to be employed by the Abilene Police Department,” according to the petition.

‘Male-dominated administration’

Anderson’s petition alleges her termination sent a message to APD’s “female employees that reporting sexual harassment will result in swift punishment from the department’s male-dominated administration.”

The petition also alleges Anderson’s termination violates Texas Commision on Human Rights by alleging that the city of Abilene retaliated against Anderson “for her reporting and opposition to the sexual harassment of a fellow employee by a male police officer.”

She now seeks monetary compensation for lost wages and benefits, attorney fees and emotional distress, including “damage to her good name and reputation.”

Anderson is also seeking “an injunction ordering the defendant (the city of Abilene) to implement a new training program to train management on how to properly investigate and respond to employee reports of sexual harassment.”

The petition ends by requesting the court to “impanel a lawful jury to hear this case.”

The city’s response

Abilene city officials denied “each and every, all and singular, the allegations made and contained in the Plaintiff’s Original Petition,” according to the city’s response filed April 12.

The city contends Anderson’s termination was “based solely on her failure to timely report the alleged workplace sexual harassment, in violation of the Abilene Police Department’s policy.”

The petition goes on to assert that her termination “was also based on her dishonesty during the Abilene Police Department’s investigation,” according to the city’s allegations.

In the city’s response, one of the major tenets is that “the Plaintiff’s claims are barred, in whole or in part, by the doctrine of governmental and qualified immunity.”

Anderson’s case could be thrown out due to the city’s claim of immunity from the lawsuit, or she could have her day in court.

The whistleblower settlement Abilene Police whistleblower lawsuit settled in city council

This article originally appeared on Abilene Reporter-News: City of Abilene slapped with another APD-related lawsuit