Parties have reached a settlement in a federal lawsuit brought by a former Bismarck police sergeant who alleged gender discrimination and wrongful termination against the department and its former chief.
The agreement between Robyn Krile and the Bismarck Police Department comes about a week before the matter was to go to trial. Full details of the agreement, including the amount of the settlement, were not immediately disclosed. Attorneys are finishing the necessary paperwork and have 45 days to file closing documents with the court.
Krile in January 2019 filed the lawsuit, alleging the department used “a systemic ruse of performance/supervisory/misconduct allegations to devalue” her and keep her from advancing to the rank of lieutenant.
She filed after losing a discrimination case before the state Department of Labor and Human Rights, a finding that was upheld by the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Her lawsuit sought more than $100,000 in damages for pain and suffering, lost pay and other reasons.
The city admits no liability in the suit but will provide a cash settlement, according to City Attorney Jannelle Combs.
“The lawsuit was settled in the best interests of all the parties,” she said. “This allows all the parties and witnesses to focus back on working together and making our communities in Burleigh County safer with the great law enforcement members in our local police departments.”
– Travis Svihovec
