Evidence a sergeant asked civilian employees if a male deputy was bothering them and added that she “knows how men in law enforcement can be” supported a jury’s sexual harassment finding for the deputy, the Missouri Court of Appeals ruled.
That and evidence of the fallout from the investigation of Lavanden Darks’ harassment complaint and of prior abuse Darks experienced after being begrudgingly granted a disability-based exemption from the Jackson County Sheriff Department’s “no beard” policy supported the jury’s award of $300,000 in punitive damages, the court said Tuesday.
Darks was also awarded $75,000 in actual damages and $371,610 in ...
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