MASON CITY — A federal discrimination lawsuit by a former Mason City police officer against the city has been dismissed as a result of a settlement.
Maria Ohl filed the suit in November 2010 while she was an officer with the Mason City Police Department.
She claimed sex discrimination, religious discrimination and retaliation by the Police Department.
Under the terms of the settlement, the city denies any wrongdoing or admission of liability, and Ohl will receive $95,000 from the insurance carrier.
The payment does not represent any taxpayer money, according to a press release from the city.
The insurance company made the decision to settle the suit to avoid further litigation expense, the press release stated.
Now that the suit has been settled, the city can “finally move on to other things,” City Administrator Brent Trout told the Globe Gazette Friday.
“We will have some closure to the situation,” he said.
In a deposition filed with the federal court, Ohl claimed she was subjected to ongoing harassment and discriminatory treatment because of her sex and was denied training and promotional opportunities.
She said she had been repeatedly subjected to inappropriate behavior, including a male officer pointing an unloaded gun at her head and pulling the trigger, and several instances of lewd language and gestures.
Regarding the religious discrimination, Ohl said in her deposition that her church affiliation may have played a part in her being denied promotional opportunities.
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Ohl is a member of Christian Fellowship Church where her brother-in-law, the Rev. Shane Philpott, is pastor.
In March 2011 the church was awarded nearly $85,000 in a settlement of a federal lawsuit Philpott filed in 2009 against the city, Police Chief Mike Lashbrook and Lt. Logan Wernet.
Philpott’s suit claimed both Lashbrook and Wernet made damaging remarks about the church.
The comments allegedly led to an Internal Revenue Service investigation of the church’s financial records. The IRS cleared Philpott and the church of any wrongdoing.
Ohl was fired from the Police Department in August 2011 for reportedly not following department rules and procedures regarding possible evidence in a criminal case.
Ohl appealed her firing to the Civil Service Commission. The commission held hearings in September 2011 and agreed with Chief Lashbrook that Ohl mishandled information she allegedly received regarding the 1995 disappearance of KIMT-TV morning anchor Jodi Huisentruit.
The commission ruled Ohl neglected her duty by not documenting possible evidence and, in doing so, interfered with an investigation, and that she failed to properly secure police records and misused mobile audio and video recording equipment.
At one point Ohl accused state and local law officers of covering up evidence in Huisentruit’s disappearance, an accusation that was denied by all the parties accused.
Ohl appealed the commission’s ruling in Cerro Gordo County District Court. Earlier this week that suit was dismissed at her request.
Ohl did not return a phone call from the Globe requesting comment.
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(11) comments
What a crock. The city pays off another mistake by the powers to be. And the taxpayers are the losers.
Did you READ the article... "This payment does not represent any taxpayer money". What this goes to show is that if you sue enough eventually someone will settle with you to avoid paying the outrageous costs associated with litigation.
when insurance companies settle claiming it would be cheaper, it means they know they'll lose and have to pay for multiple appeals to stall the inevitable. when the settlement includes no admission of wrong doing, it means yep, we did that, twice and we loved it.
Exactly right on BRADFORD 2, and what you say can also be applied to what's going on at the Federal level with the debt it's ran up. A bunch of idiots at bank/banks named the Fed/Federal Reserve System, (part of TPTB) borrows money to a bunch of fools in congress and the White House ( the rest of TPTB) and the taxpayers are the suckers (better definition of the taxpayers than"losers" IMO), because they eventually have to pay it off.
Of course it is taxpayer money. Whoever doesn't think so is in serious denial. Taxpayer money always has, and will continue to pay the insurance premium. Taxpayer money will continue to pay the soon-to-be higher premiums due to paying out a big claim. I work for the city. I know.
first of all your missing a lot, the insurance company thought that it was cheaper to pay then go to court and pay attorneys, But what I have problem with is "no taxpayer money" isnt the cities insurance have a $25,000 deduct?? who paid that?? plus higher premiums?? taxpayers. Makes sense to not pay hundreds of thousands to attorneys but dont lie about tax money
If what you say is true about the $25,000 it is another example of pi** poor reporting by the GG.
After reading that the money the fired police officer received did not cost anyone anything makes me wonder if I can sue Mason City for a million dollars. I was born in Mason City and became such a pure person that I could walk on water on my birthday which is, by the way, February the twenty-first. When I attended the high school reunion in '03 I found out that the Park Hospital, where I was born in 1935, did not become a national monument but became nothing but a parking lot. That really fractured the picture of myself and if I can get the million dollars which will not cost anyone anything by Christmas, I will feel much better about myself. Thank You, Robert M. H. Zirbel, Las Vegas, Nevada.
Forget about it.
SO - picked up 95 grand of "free' money. 1/3 goes to the lawyers, which leaves around 60 grand, which represents at best 2 years of honest salary.
Tell us, "Officer" Ohl - was it all really worth it?
I believe that she earned every penny of it.I wouldn"t trust the Mason City Police for any amount of money,They are a bunch of cooks using the system.We had a Purse stolen at Walmart, went to them ,they knew the party s name but would go after them , they said it was in Osage and they didn't go there????????????It was all on tape from Wal-mart but they still wouldn't go after them , we were out maybe if we had of been from Mason instead of Garner that might have made a difference.
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