A female Los Angeles police detective who was in a relationship with a colleague, then later alleged her career had been negatively impacted by department’s attitude toward women who complain of sexual harassment, has dropped her lawsuit against the city.
Attorneys for Det. Kristin Cho filed court papers on Monday with Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Upinder S. Kalra, asking him to dismiss their client’s case “without prejudice,” meaning it can be refiled later. The court papers do not indicate if a settlement was reached or if Cho is not pursuing the case for other reasons.
Cho filed the suit in November 2022, alleging gender harassment and failure to prevent sexual harassment. Cho was in a relationship with Det. Darren Lee Stauffer, but they later broke up. Her attorneys contended in their pleadings that female LAPD officers who report sexual harassment are unfairly stigmatized because the LAPD is still a “highly male-dominated paramilitary organization.”
Cho was hired by the LAPD in 2008 and became a detective in 2019 assigned to the Newton Division. She was in an intimate relationship from July 2019 until October 2020 with Stauffer, according to the suit.
Shortly after the relationship ended, Cho began working at the 77th Street Community Police Station, where Stauffer also was assigned, according to the suit. Her former flame began sending her “unwanted and harassing” text messages with references to intimacy and he additionally glared at her in the detective squad room and ostracized her, the suit stated.
Although Cho was new to the division, Stauffer had worked there for many years and was well known, so her other colleagues began isolating her as well, according to the suit.
Cho repeatedly rejected Stauffer’s alleged advances and requested that they conduct themselves in a professional manner, but he refused to do so, the plaintiff’s lawyers maintained in their pleadings.
Cho believes Stauffer had previously been the subject of one or more sexual harassment complaints dating back to 2011 or earlier, so the LAPD knew or should have known that he could subject the plaintiff and other women to harassing conduct, but the department still failed to take appropriate action against the other detective that could have prevented his harassment of Cho, the suit stated.
After having worked at the 77th Street station for less than five months, Cho was forced to request a temporary transfer to the Southwest Community Police Station from March 2021 to February 2022 to escape the increasingly hostile environment, the suit stated.
Cho’s ability to promote or obtain preferred highly sought positions in the LAPD will be negatively impacted by her short-term stay at the 77th Street station, which will be viewed with suspicion by supervisors deciding on which candidates are promoted, according to the suit.