BY ANDY TAYLOR
Montgomery County Chronicle

CHERRYVALE — Current and former members of the Cherryvale City Council as well as city administrator Trey Cocking and former police chief Milton Gillespie are being sued in federal court by a former Cherryvale police officer who is claiming to be a victim of sexual harassment and sexual discrimination.

A 17-page complaint was filed in U.S. District Court in Kansas City, Kan., on Dec. 9 by attorneys representing Laurel K. Fauster, who served as a Cherryvale police officer before her termination in 2007. Fauster is bringing a sexual harassment and sexual discrimination lawsuit against city administrator Trey Cocking, former police chief Milton Gillespie, Mayor John Wright, current city councilors Chad Wickham, Kevin Crane, Jerry Wallace and Randy Wagoner, and former city councilors Rick Valverde and Ben Bellmore. Valverde and Bellmore were on the city council at the time when the sexual harassment and sexual discrimination incidents were alleged to have happened.

Fauster, now 39 and living in Mound Valley, claims that she was subjected to lewd and sexual advances by Gillespie during his tenure as police chief. One incident in particular took place on Jan. 24, 2007, when Fauster and Gillespie were en route to a law enforcement training seminar in Olathe, Kan. Following Gillespie’s alleged comments, which included comments about a woman’s vaginal area, Fauster refused to return to Cherryvale in the same vehicle as Gillespie.

Fauster brought the matter to her supervisor, assistant police chief Larry Blevins, who then reported the matter to Cocking. Fauster claims nothing was done immediately to stop the unwanted advances or to adequately investigate the matter.

Fauster also says in her complaint that she was subjected to lewd comments and sexual advances by members of the police department as retaliation for discussing her concerns about Gillespie with Blevins. One alleged incident took place later in the spring 2007 in which an unnamed Cherryvale police officer asked Fauster to engage in sex with the police officer and his wife. On that particular occasion, the unnamed officer made comments about a woman’s vagina in the present of other people.

When Fauster refused the unwanted advances, the officer then began to “publicly humiliate Plaintiff (Fauster) and ostracize her from the rest of the police force by making derogatory and belittling comments about Plaintiff’s character and professional competency . . .”, the complaint said.

Fauster also said in her complaint that she applied for the position of police chief but that she was denied the job because of her sex. The issue of her qualifications as police chief were discussed when she was hired by Gillespie for an open police position. During the interview, Gillespie allegedly claimed that Fauster was more qualified for the police chief position than he was.

When Fauster complained of the work environment to her superior, she felt nothing was being done to stop the culture of sexual harassment, the complaint says.

“Throughout Plaintiff’s employment with Cherryvale, Plaintiff made repeated complaints to her immediate supervisor concerning the continuing offensive sexual comments and harassment,” according to the complaint. “Plaintiff was repeatedly advised that her complaints had been related to Defendant Cocking and members of the Cherryvale City Council. Notwithstanding, Defendants failed and refused to take any action to remedy these acts of sexual harassment and humiliation. The extent of the sexual harassment and Defendants’ deliberate and/or reckless indifference to Plaintiff’s continued complaints created an intolerable and hostile work environment.”

Fauster also contends that she inquired about the termination of Gillespie (Gillespie was fired by the city council in spring 2007), Fauster said she was advised by assistant police chief Larry Blevins that the City of Cherryvale was unable to investigate her allegations. The reason? The complaint cites Blevins as saying the police department and city council were concerned that such an investigation might result in liability to the City of Cherryvale.

Fauster then submitted her application to the open position of police chief following Gillespie’s termination. Fauster was not afforded an interview with the council in the consideration of that job.

Fauster also contends that Cocking and the city council conspired “to take adverse employment” against her. On June 30, 2007, the Kansas Law Enforcement Center in Hutchinson, Kan., denied her request for reciprocity (prior to coming to Cherryvale, Fauster was a police officer in Texas). The complaint alleges that Cocking refused to sign the necessary documentation to grant Fauster with certification reciprocity and that Cocking ordered Blevins to forward a “false and defamatory” letter to the law enforcement center for the “express purpose of preventing Plaintiff from obtaining employment of any kind in the law enforcement community.”

When the issue of the police chief position was discussed with city administrator Trey Cocking, the city administrator was alleged to have said that Cherryvale would never have a female police chief, the complaint says.

The complaint cites four specific claims, that:

• Fauster was subjected to sexual harassment, sexual discrimination and unlawful retaliation.

• Fauster was denied her civil rights under the Equal Protection Clause of the U.S. Constitution.

• the City of Cherryvale — through its city council, city administrator and police chief conspired to reach a mutual understanding and acted together to “undertake a course of conduct violative of Plaintiffs (Fauster’s) civil rights by failing and refusing to take steps to stop the unlawful discrimination, workplace sexual harassment and discrimination based on sex and retaliated against Plaintiff by terminating her employment when she complained of the illegal and wrongful treatment committed against her in the workplace.”

• the alleged acts constitute a “tort of outrage in that the acts and conduct of the defendants individually and acting within the scope of their employment and on behalf of the City of Cherryvale were so willful, malicious, unjustified, capricious and extreme as to be beyond all bounds of decency. Such conduct was so extreme and outrageous as to be utterly intolerable in a civilized society.”

Fauster is seeking $75,000 plus punitive damages against each of the nine defendants. She is demanding that the case be heard in front of a federal jury.

According to the court complaint, Fauster is being represented by John C. Frieden and Clinton E. Patty of the Frieden & Forbes law firm in Topeka and William J. Fitzpatrick, an Independence attorney.

What happens now in the federal lawsuit? The nine defendants will be asked to provide a response to the allegations, after which a federal judge will determine a time and location for a jury trial.

As in all cases, a person is innocent of all charges unless convicted by a jury or an admission of guilt.

Trey Cocking, city administrator, said he could not comment on any aspect of the lawsuit at the request of the city’s insurance carrier. He said the lawsuit deals with personnel matters, which are considered confidential.