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Dispute: Former officer claims race, gender discrimination against GCPD, city. By DIANE LEWIS Garden City is paying $46,000 to settle a case where a former Garden City Police officer trainee sued the city and the police department for race and gender discrimination. Isabel Banda and the city reached the settlement after mediation, said City Attorney Randy Grisell. The attorneys of both sides and Banda signed the agreement Friday. In the settlement, the city and Banda agree "to compromise and settle, without any admissions of liability..." In February Banda sued the city in U.S. District Court In Wichita after her complaints with the Kansas Human Rights Commission and Equal Employment Opportunity Commission from March 2001 were not reviewed in the required time limit. That allowed her, through her attorney Dave Rebein, Dodge City, to sue the city. The suit claims Banda, a Hispanic woman who was a police department scholarship student from 1997 through 2000, was "subject to more rigorous training standards and requirements than her male and non-Hispanic counterparts," and that "taunts and criticism based on her sex, national origin and race" created a hostile work environment while in training in the police department. Banda’s suit also stated she was forced out of the patrol division and given the option to become a dispatcher or quit in September 2000. The suit asked for compensatory damages, without a specific amount, and a jury trial. It also describes specific instances Banda claims were discriminatory and led to a hostile work environment. It reads, "During one specific call, (Banda) responded to a residential death. The deceased was a male sitting in front of a computer screen displaying pornographic material. The deceased’s penis was exposed and in the presence of other male patrol officers and the coroner, (Banda’s) supervisor demanded that she place the deceased male’s organ back in his pants, notwithstanding the coroner’s statement that he could perform that act. Alter returning to the squad room, (Banda) was forced to discuss the incident in detail in front of other male officers, and for some time thereafter, was subjected to taunting, jokes and harassment related to the incident." Four male officers, the coroner and Banda were at the scene, according to the Garden City Police Department records. Three of the officers were disciplined, City Manager Bob Halloran bad said previously. Garden City responded to the lawsuit earlier in the year by denying all of the allegations. The settlement states the city "does not admit to any unlawful or tortious conduct or any other wrongdoing in connection with Banda and that the (city) has entered into this agreement for the sole purpose of avoiding further cost and expense associated with Banda’s claims." The settlement also states the parties can’t talk about the settlement, which was reached during mediation. Mediation is where "an impartial person gets together with the parties to discuss the issues and determine whether a settlement can be reached," Grisell said. Garden City commissioners did not vote on the settlement, Grisell said. "They haven’t voted on it," he said. "They can authorize me as counsel to negotiate a settlement." Grisell said another discrimination lawsuit filed by Kari Stewart-Upchurch against the city and police department is still in the discovery stage, which means it hasn’t made it to trial or to mediation. That suit was filed at the same time as Banda’s. Stewart-Upchurch sued for gender discrimination, saying she was denied a position with the police department solely based on her sex, despite her experience as a firefighter and emergency medical technician. Rebein is her attorney as well. Messages to Rebein were not returned as of presstime, and Banda could not be reached for comment. Garden City Mayor Tim Cruz said he is glad the sefflement was made. "We needed to move forward on it," Cruz said. "Things have been going on for several months. I feel comfortable that there was a consensus on the agreement." Cruz said going to court would have cost both Banda and the city. "It’s always good to settle because that way you don’t have long, drawn-out court processes or expense," Cruz said. "Both parties needed to move forward.”
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