The Undesired Path into Documenting Employment Discrimination – Law Officer

I deeply regret that circumstances that forced me to write about this subject, particularly due to my own personal experiences. The purpose of this article is to outline the steps you can take to protect yourself and others within your law enforcement agency from discrimination, sexual harassment, bullying, and similar issues. It is crucial to emphasize that these behaviors are not limited to a specific gender and can be relevant to anyone working in law enforcement. Unfortunately, anyone can fall victim to these negative behaviors.

Before delving into the process of documenting such incidents and behaviors, it is important to discuss ways to proactively protect yourself throughout your law enforcement career. While I am not a lawyer nor an expert, I would like to share insights based on my own traumatic experiences. I wish I had better understood what I was dealing with, what I would continue to face, and how I could have prevented it altogether.

READ: PAIN TO ADVOCACY: THE LAUREN HOUSTON STORY

It is important to note that my previous experience working at Lansing Correctional Facility and the close relationships I had with my colleagues had a significant impact on my perceptions when I entered the field of policing. While I am grateful for that experience, it unfortunately blinded me for several years, preventing me from acknowledging the truth of what was happening around me. This prolonged denial led me down a dark path that, in hindsight, could have been avoided had I confronted each incident as it occurred, rather than suppressing them and convincing myself that they did not affect me.

Preventable Steps to Take When Picking a Law Enforcement Agency

The “Post Ferguson Era” has opened the door to most every agency in their difficulties in recruiting police officers. Of course, this is not something we want overall, because it leaves a detrimental effect to our communities and current police officers in the field. However, we are living in a climate where if you possess the bare minimum qualifications to become a police officer, you have the advantage of choosing from essentially any department you want—Use this. We now live in a world, at least for the time being, that you don’t have to pick the first police department that calls you after you apply. So, let’s go into the steps of how you can PREVENT yourself from falling victim to a discriminatory department ridden with low morale, bad leadership, and any other negative you can think of.

1. RESEARCH! RESEARCH! RESEARCH!
   Explore platforms like Indeed and Glassdoor, which allow current and former employees to share their reviews of employers. Reading these reviews can provide valuable insights that I wish I had before accepting my job. There may be additional platforms available for research purposes.b. Check for ongoing or past lawsuits by searching the specific databases relevant to your state. In Missouri, for example, you can use courts.mo.gov to search for civil cases. While many people primarily use this to look up criminal cases, it also includes civil cases. Depending on the type of law enforcement agency you are considering, tailor your search accordingly. For a municipality like the one I worked for, search for civil suits against the “City of St. Joseph” related to “employment discrimination.” For state agencies like the Highway Patrol, you can use the “State of Missouri” as a search term. It is worth remembering that discrimination lawsuits can also reach the federal level, and for that purpose, you can use Pacer.us.gov to track down federal lawsuits.c. Do not underestimate the power of a simple Google search. I suggest using the format “city, state” along with the term “lawsuit” to directly find news articles related to your prospective agency. This can provide further insights into any legal issues they may have faced.

Taking these steps can equip you with vital information to make an informed decision and potentially avoid joining a department with negative attributes.

2. DO MORE RIDE-ALONGS WITH YOUR PROSPECTIVE DEPARTMENT THAN WHAT YOUR POLICE ACADEMY REQUIRES AND PAY ATTENTION.
3. Most of the time during a ride-along, you become enthralled with the excitement of running code to calls, witnessing exciting incidents, etc. This is why I suggest doing more than what’s required.
4. After you allow the excitement of the ride-along part wear off a bit, pay close attention to what may seem as minor details, such as:
   1. Watch how each officer interacts with one another—This is not only a good way to observe what kind of relationships the officers have, but it should also provide you with some insight into the morale of that department.
   2. If people are constantly complaining about their agency, ESPECIALLY WHEN THEY HAVE A RIDE-ALONG IN THE CAR, you should look at that as a red flag.
   3. If you’re hearing officers “badmouth” each other or are talking behind each other’s backs—THIS DISPLAYS A BAD CULTURE, AND THIS IS A RED FLAG.
   4. If it seems that officers are more concerned with shit-talking other officers than doing their job and making sure that they are good at their job—THIS IS POOR LEADERSHIP, BAD CULTURE, AND A RED FLAG.
   5. Are you seeing sergeants and/or higher-ranking officers run calls with patrol officers? This could give insight into the culture of that department and how their leadership functions. Unfortunately, in a lot of departments, once someone gets that extra stripe sewn on their sleeve, their integrity (if they had it to begin with) dissolves and their power trip begins. It’s possible you could see this on a ride-along, especially if the shift and/or department is short staffed as most are at the current moment. If that’s the case, and you’re not seeing at least 1 or 2 sergeants running calls with patrol (depending on the size of the department), THIS IS POOR LEADERSHIP, AND THIS IS A RED FLAG.

When You Notice Things Start to Go Bad

If you find yourself experiencing the red flags mentioned above within an agency where you are already employed and there are no significant reasons keeping you there, my first piece of advice is to consider leaving. While some may choose to turn a blind eye, follow orders, conform to the department’s culture, and hope to make it to retirement, it may not be the best option for everyone. However, if you decide that you don’t want to leave and are willing to fight for change, here is my advice and some expectations to consider:

1. Document everything: Keep detailed records of incidents, interactions, and any discriminatory or harassing behavior you experience or witness.
2. Seek support: Reach out to trusted colleagues, mentors, or even external organizations that can provide guidance and support throughout the process.
3. Understand the legal framework: Familiarize yourself with employment laws, policies, and procedures regarding discrimination, harassment, and reporting mechanisms within your jurisdiction.
4. Consult with legal professionals: It may be beneficial to consult with an attorney or seek legal advice before taking any formal action.
5. Follow internal protocols: If your agency has specific reporting procedures, follow them accordingly. This may involve filing formal complaints, documenting incidents with supervisors, or engaging in internal investigations.
6. Prepare for potential challenges: Understand that challenging a department’s culture or leadership may come with resistance, retaliation, or additional difficulties. Be prepared to face these challenges along the way.
7. Seek external resources: Utilize external resources such as advocacy groups, unions, or civil rights organizations that specialize in addressing workplace discrimination or harassment.
8. Maintain your well-being: Engage in self-care practices and prioritize your mental and emotional well-being throughout this process. Seek counseling or therapy if needed.
9. Remember, each situation is unique, and it’s important to assess your own circumstances and consult with professionals who can provide personalized advice and guidance.

In further detail:

1. DOCUMENT!

Even the smallest incidents that seem like they’re of less significance, in the long run, won’t be. The discriminatory and harassing treatment that I received was over an 8-year period. The small things grow into what’s called “cumulative” and what is establishing a pattern.

These incidents of bad behavior do not have to have YOU as the victim. There was an incident I witnessed during a roll-call where most everyone in the room was shit-talking a dispatcher that had quit previously and was getting rehired. It was absolutely disgusting the comments people were making. It felt as if I was sitting in a high school cafeteria with the level of maturity I was being forced to witness. A sergeant was at the front of room “leading” the roll-call, and also participating in the behavior. To my left of where I was seated was the Midnight Patrol Captain who stood there in complete silence and never once made any attempt to immediately shut down the behavior. It was flabbergasting. So, I left roll-call, and while it was fresh in my mind, I quickly typed in a word document the date and time of the incident, who all was present in the room, specific comments that were made, and how it was handled by supervisors. THESE THINGS MAKE A DIFFERENCE.

2. HUMAN RESOURCES IS REALLY ONLY IN PLACE TO PROTECT THE DEPARTMENT AND THE CITY, NOT THE EMPLOYEES.

I had to find this out the hard way. Prior to this department, I had never had any reason to utilize my HR department in any other job I had. I initially believed that the Human Resource Director for my city was going to do the right thing and do what’s best for me. That could not have been further from the truth, and that was realized once I got their written response back from the very first complaint, I ever submitted to them which consisted of a 2-inch paragraph stating my complaint was “unfounded” and basically that they did zero investigation to come to that conclusion. That’s when I knew how important the documentation was.

1. If you believe that you are going to have any sort of “questionable” conversation with someone that you’ve had issues with in the past or fear you may have issues with, make sure to have that conversation through text message or email. This is what creates the paper trail and eliminates the “he said, she said” in verbal conversations.
2. If you do submit a complaint either to a supervisor or HR, watch the reactions you receive from other supervisors and your coworkers. If you feel that their behavior towards you has changed, and possibly has become retaliatory, as before, create a quick word document, date, time, description of behavior, whatever the case may be. This retaliatory behavior may not even come in the form of something face-to-face. For example, not long before I obtained an attorney was when I filed my first complaint. It was soon after that that I had received my first bad annual evaluation in my 5 or 6 years of being there and there was not one piece of documentation on that supervisor’s end to justify the bad evaluation aside from his own personal opinion. That’s not a coincidence in timing. That’s retaliation.
3. Watch for inconsistencies in treatment towards you in comparison to other officers by the officers themselves and especially by the supervisors. This could be when it comes to discipline, special projects, etc. If you feel that you are witnessing favoritism or retaliation, DOCUMENT IT. If this is occurring by a supervisor and you have the opportunity (via text or email), professionally inquire about whatever the inconsistent behavior was that you witnessed and see what explanation they provide you. Typically, it’s bullshit.
4. Once you feel that any normal and reasonable person could look through what you have documented and see the discrimination, harassment, and/or bullying that you’re feeling, begin researching good employment discrimination attorneys. I would recommend that if you are working in a smaller town or city try and obtain an attorney that is a decent distance away from that town. Unfortunately, most people can’t be trusted. You don’t want your attorney to have any connections to your city that would create a bias in your case.
5. One more thing, something that some are unaware of… Most employment discrimination attorneys work on a contingency basis, meaning if they take your case, they feel that there’s enough to prove your case and if you don’t win, they don’t win. There is a downside. If you are not considered a “protected class”, you will most likely be paying out of pocket for an attorney. Check into the EEOC for more information on what being a protected class means.
6. I wanted to put this one last in the list as this is typically a violation of a lot of department’s policies, that being way too broad of a policy that says you cannot record other department members. To me, unless it were specified to protect details into a criminal investigation, it’s a policy used to protect corruption, but that’s just my opinion. There are apps that will audio record that you can get on your phone, but do this if you feel there is no other option because you don’t want to give the department anything that they can potentially use against you, even though the policy itself is ridiculous. I know in my multiple submitted complaints, after obtaining an attorney, I did start getting way longer responses back from HR than the first one, but ultimately the response was HR talking in circles to lengthen the response and it would come out sounding something like…
   1. “We asked (employee’s name) if they did (accused behavior), (employee’s name) said that they didn’t, therefore the complaint is unfounded”.
7. Even if you have put in several complaints and the department has not acted accordingly, do not stop putting in the complaints. It’s just another thing to add to your case of how you exhausted every possible route to alleviate the problem, and the department never took action as they should have.

GET READY…

1. I was hopeful in the fact that once I filed my lawsuit and the city was notified of the lawsuit, that their bad behavior would lessen or at least temporarily go away. I hope this for anyone in this situation, however, most likely, that will not be the case. For me, once the lawsuit was filed, the retaliation was 100X worse than what I was going through before. And instead of the harassment and bullying portion staying amongst the patrol level people, it flipped into being the administration becoming the “bullies”. This could also be described as “corporate exiting” as Travis Yates would put it. This is the time that they begin to try to find anything they can use against you to create an internal affairs investigation and ultimately paint you in a bad light to escape them actually being the ones in the wrong. It is beyond stressful, especially if you hadn’t gotten in trouble prior to this, but all you can do is go through the steps, and DOCUMENT.
2. Lawsuits can be protracted and mentally draining, often taking multiple years to resolve, especially if you need to go through the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) process. It is vital to have a strong support system in place from the beginning. Surround yourself with people you can trust and lean on for emotional support throughout this challenging journey. Additionally, considering therapy can provide a valuable resource to help navigate the difficulties that may arise. Make sure that from the very beginning if you’re having to go through this, you have someone to talk to about it. Don’t bottle it up. I assure you, if you do, it will most certainly come out and at the most inopportune moment and it may come out in a way that could permanently change your life. Make sure you have people that you can vent to and lean on. Therapy was a huge lifeline to me, and I still had the support of my family, but until you’ve personally gone through it, you have no idea how difficult the process can be.
3. Disappointment and changed relationships: It is not uncommon for people’s true colors to emerge when someone goes against the grain or challenges the status quo. It can be disheartening when coworkers, whom you once believed to be close, distance themselves or even lie to protect themselves. While this can be painful, it is important to prepare yourself for the possibility and remember that not everyone may have the integrity or courage to stand up in such situations.

Despite the challenges highlighted, it is essential not to be discouraged from standing up against this deplorable behavior. It is only by individuals coming forward and speaking out against injustice that it can be confronted and stopped. By taking a stand and seeking change, you contribute to making a positive difference within the profession and fostering a healthier and more inclusive working environment.

Lauren Houston is a passionate advocate for combatting poisonous internal culture within law enforcement. With over 8 years of experience in the St. Joseph, Missouri Department, Lauren recently resigned after enduring discrimination, sexual harassment, and retaliation. Despite the immense mental toll, she remains determined to empower other females and victims of similar mistreatment. Lauren’s mission is not only to combat poisonous internal cultures, but also address workplace injustice, and challenge the mental health stigma that continues to plague law enforcement. Through her work, she aims to create a safer and more inclusive environment for all officers.

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