Second female Lincoln officer sues, alleging discrimination

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) - A second Lincoln police officer is alleging sexual harassment and discrimination in a lawsuit.

The Lincoln Journal-Star reports that the lawsuit that Melissa Ripley filed in Lancaster County District Court comes four months after Sarah Williams leveled similar accusation.

Ripley’s attorney Kelly Brandon described the discrimination as “pervasive” in an interview Wednesday and said female officers are leaving the department to the detriment of the community because of the failure to address it.

Williams, for instance, has taken a job with the Omaha Police Department.

Acting Police Chief Brian Jackson announced in March that the Lincoln Police Department had signed on to the 30x30 pledge, focusing on improving recruitment and retention of female officers. He declined to comment on the lawsuit.

The lawsuit alleged that when Ripley started in a rotating position on the drug task force in 2007, Jackson, who led it, told her she would have to work 10 times harder than the male officers to prove herself.

Ripley, a 21-year police veteran, said her sergeant failed to properly monitor her wire, jeopardizing her safety. Brandon said Ripley repeatedly voiced concerns to Jackson, “who did nothing to remedy them.”