High ranking SPD Lt. seeks millions in damages claiming racial discrimination and retaliation
SEATTLE - The city of Seattle and its police department are once again slapped with a legal complaint seeking millions of dollars.
A high-ranking Seattle police officer filed a tort claim, the precursor to a lawsuit, alleging harassment, retaliation and discrimination.
John O’Neil is a Black lieutenant employed with the Seattle Police Department and has been on the force for more than 20 years.
Attorney Jacob Downs filed the claim on behalf of O’Neil. Their side is claiming that some officers are resistant to his leadership due to his race and retaliates when he tries to enforce workplace standards and address problems with behavior.
"Lieutenant John O’Neil presents this claim concerning the City of Seattle’s handling of renewed workplace complaints, reported racial targeting, damaging workplace rumors, and requests for protection and equal treatment."
The backstory:
This is not O’Neil’s first legal filing. The city settled with O’Neil for more than $200,000 in August 2025 after he countersued a lawsuit brought by four female officers who accused him of sexual harassment and gender discrimination.
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.
In 2024, Lt. Lauren Truscott, Sgt. Judinna Gulpan, Officer Valerie Carson, and Officer Kame Spencer accused O’Neil of sexual harassment and gender discrimination. The same lawsuit by the four female officers also took issue with Police Chief Adrian Diaz, accusing him of supporting O’Neil’s behavior. Those accusations led Mayor Harrell to demote Diaz that year.
The city eventually settled with the four female officers in June 2026 for more than $2 million and both settlements acknowledged there was no wrongdoing despite the city settling with the officers.
After a bit of calm, the veteran officer now says the same pattern of retaliation and false rumors are back enabled by SPD.
"SPD assigned Valerie Carson to the same small workplace as him despite the prior complaints and supervisors’ concerns about targeting. SPD did not implement meaningful protective protocols to manage that placement or prevent the existing conflict from escalating. O’Neil’s counsel’s September 9, 2026 letter expressly raised the reassignment and requested an explanation of the safeguards in place. After approximately two years without complaints against O’Neil, he received two complaints within approximately one month of Carson’s transfer to the same building."
The filing reveals Carson’s latest complaint to the Office of Police Accountability (OPA) alleged that O’Neil in June of 2026 talked about the prior lawsuit calling the female officers "liars" stating the evidence was against them.
"O’Neil unequivocally denies calling Carson or any other former plaintiff a liar. He addressed damaging rumors affecting his ability to lead, denied accusations against him, and referred employees to public investigative records so they could evaluate the underlying information themselves."
In previous arguments, O’Neil highlighted the fact that he had no complaints for nearly 20 years at SPD, but that changed in 2022 to 2024 when a slew of EEO and HR complaints were filed by a small group of officers. O’Neil argued to the Office of Police Accountability, an agency tasked with investigating police misconduct, that several officers colluded to ruin his reputation and career because he held them accountable.
O’Neil’s says all of the internal complaints lodged against him came back unfounded or not sustained. Despite his name being cleared, O’Neil argued he was painted as a "predator" and "harasser."
Lt. John O'Neil with the Seattle Police Deparmtent. (Seattle Police Department)
Dig deeper:
The legal filing also takes aim at OPA, alleging the office overlooked his complaints of insubordination and ignored witnesses he provided.
"O’Neil does not claim immunity from investigation or seek to prevent employees from making good-faith complaints. He alleges selective scrutiny and inadequate consideration of the full context, including earlier unsupported allegations, reported racial targeting, workplace rumors, and the absence of an identified retaliatory employment action in the complaint summary."
The October 8th filing cites an independent investigation by MFR Associates commissioned by Mayor Harrell in May 2024 following SPD’s unrest.
MFR’s report found that a small group of individuals were filing multiple complaints against each other. MFR stated that despite on the record concerns shared by supervisors about O’Neil being targeted because of his race, MFR said the city never investigated.
In its 2024 report, MFR Associates cited a narrow response as opposed to a broader look that "might have uncovered interconnected behaviors indicative of discrimination or harassment that were not otherwise evident."
O’Neil is seeking $3 million for what he is calling "substantial emotional distress, humiliation, reputational injury, and disruption of his working relationships."
FOX 13 reached out to the city of Seattle about this case but they typically do not comment on pending litigation.
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