Denver Deputies Receive Payout For Sexual Harassment Lawsuit

DENVER, CO — The Denver City Council on Monday authorized a $1.55 million payout to be used toward a settlement with 15 current and former deputies of the Denver Sheriff’s Department. According to reports, the deputies filed a lawsuit against the department, claiming they were sexually harassed while working at the Denver County Jail.

The complaints, filed in 2015 and 2016, allege a hostile work environment where male inmates would often grope female officers, in addition to masturbating in front of and speaking sexually derogatory obscenities to them. The lawsuit claimed the behavior originated from lack of structure to protect the women during the work day, Denverite reports.

The lawsuit also claimed the female deputies were discouraged from reporting the incidents, Westword reports, and were told it was “part of the job” and “to get used to it.” It claimed the department had a “pattern and practice of discriminating against plaintiffs and other female deputies with respect to job assignments and other terms and conditions of employment."

Denver Sheriff’s Department spokeperson Daria Serna told Westword the agency took steps two years ago to curb sexual harassment among inmates, including informing inmates that harassing deputies is prohibited and not without consequences, and revising the department’s zero tolerance policy to also apply to inmates.