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SEATTLE - A high-ranking Seattle Police Department officer who claimed retaliation, harassment and racial discrimination in a February lawsuit against four female police officers has settled with the city.
Lieutenant John O’Neil did not demand a specific dollar amount in the lawsuit, but the city of Seattle has agreed to settle with him for more than $200,000.
In his legal filing, the veteran officer claimed that SPD failed to refute defamatory accusations against him when they knew they were false.
Lt. John O’Neil is a 20-year veteran of the Seattle Police Department in Seattle, Wash. (FOX 13 Seattle)
Keep reading to learn more about the lawsuit.
The focus of John O'Neil's lawsuit
The backstory:
The focus of O’Neil’s lawsuit was against Lieutenant Lauren Truscott, Sergeant Jean Gulpan and Seattle police Officers Valerie Carson and Kame Spencer.
In the lawsuit, O’Neil accused the women of conspiring to bring him down with false allegations because he held several of them accountable for bad performance.
O’Neil’s lawsuit follows a lawsuit filed by the four women back in April 2024.
The four officers went public with accusations against O’Neil accusing him of gender discrimination, sexual harassment and retaliation. Shortly after the female officers’ allegations, Mayor Harrell demoted then Police Chief Adrian Diaz.
Seattle police Chief Adrian Diaz was accused of supporting John O'Neil's behavior
Dig deeper:
Diaz was also named in the women’s lawsuit accusing Diaz of supporting O’Neil’s behavior.
In the lawsuit, O’Neil also claimed six other female SPD employees came to his defense, complaining to Human Resources that the four female officers tried to recruit them to target O’Neil.
O’Neil has more than 20 years of experience at the SPD and continues to work for the department.
Prior to O’Neil’s lawsuit, FOX 13 Seattle obtained hundreds of pages of internal documents that displayed a timeline of accusations and findings in O'Neil’s case.
John O'Neil asked SPD for intervention
Local perspective:
For over three years, O’Neil made repeated pleas to SPD and the Office of Police Accountability (OPA) for intervention.
O’Neil says his pleas went unresolved, leading to the continuation of frivolous complaints and the weaponization of the EEO system.
As for the lawsuit filed by the four female officers, that case is still pending.
Female cops accuse Seattle Police leadership of 'grooming,' sexual harassment
Four female police officers have filed a tort claim against the Seattle Police Department, alleging sex discrimination, sexual harassment and a hostile work environment.
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The Source: Information in this story came from legal documents obtained by FOX 13 Seattle.