Ashley Cummins. Photo: Facebook
A Southern California police department, the National City Police Department (NCPD), has been found liable for harassment and discrimination, ordered to pay $10 million to former officer Ashley Cummins.
Cummins, a lesbian who is now an MMA fighter (“Smashley”), alleged in her lawsuit that during her time with the NCPD, starting around March 2020, she faced persistent harassment and discrimination due to her sexual orientation and gender.
This included being told female officers had to be submissive or sleep with male officers to be accepted, being unfairly passed over for a K-9 unit position, and experiencing incidents where her safety was jeopardized and she was unjustifiably excluded from crime scenes.
She also claimed that superiors discouraged reporting such behavior.
The jury’s verdict awarded her significant damages, and the city is considering an appeal.
