911 dispatcher sues Salem for $1M after denial to attend trial for man accused of rape

A 911 dispatcher is suing the city of Salem and the director of the Willamette Valley Communications Center for $1 million, accusing her supervisor of retaliating against her for asking to reschedule a promotion exam so she could attend the trial of a man accused of raping her.

The lawsuit filed in Marion County Circuit Court on Dec. 21 accuses the city and supervisor Scott Leavell of First Amendment whistleblower retaliation and intimidating an employee for taking leave to testify in a criminal proceeding.

City officials declined to comment on the allegations, citing the pending litigation.

The Statesman Journal does not name survivors of sexual assault.

According to the complaint submitted by the woman's attorneys, Sean Riddell and Ashley Cadotte, the woman was sexually assaulted by a man in Multnomah County in 2019. The man was charged with first-degree rape and was scheduled to go to trial in November.

In the months before the trial, the woman, who worked as a 911 call taker, applied for a promotion as a communication specialist III. She has worked for the department since 2018 and is still working for the city.

The promotional interview and written exam were scheduled for Nov. 9, the same week as the trial. When she told her supervisors the Multnomah County District Attorney's Office needed her to testify at the trial and asked for a different exam date, her request was denied.

Her supervisors said they would not accommodate the trial, according to the lawsuit.

"Plaintiff was too upset and told the City’s agents that plaintiff expected some flexibility in the matter since her trial dates were out of her control," the lawsuit said. "The City’s agents told plaintiff that her expectations were 'unrealistic.'"

Oregon law specifically affords a crime victim the right to be present at any critical stage of the proceedings held in open court when the defendant will be present.

When the woman sent a follow-up email reiterating her decision to attend the trial and asking for the exam to be rescheduled, her supervisor canceled the promotion testing process.

Meanwhile, just before the trial, the man accused of raping her pleaded guilty to the lesser offense of second-degree sexual abuse and was sentenced to three years probation and ordered to register as a sex offender.

The woman told some of her co-workers and non-city employees about the city's decision to not accommodate her attending the trial, an action that led to a meeting with Willamette Valley Communication Center's management team in December, according to the complaint. Her attorneys said management warned the woman to stop talking about the promotion process or the city might have to take action.

In an audio recording of the meeting obtained by the Statesman Journal, management can be heard telling her to stop spreading "malicious" and "not factual" information.

"That information started spreading around the center like wildfire, and for what reason it was shared, I have no idea," Fire Deputy Chief Greg Hadley said in the recording. "Now, we are not quashing your rights to free speech."

Management praised her work but accused her of misrepresenting what happened. They said everyone else dropped out of the promotion process after learning about her troubles rescheduling the exam around her trial. Other city employees were contacting leadership outraged about the lack of accommodation.

The woman insisted she was being truthful.

"I said what happened," she said. "(The trial) was not accommodated. That was illegal."

Leavell canceled the promotion because she engaged in protected speech and threatened disciplinary action if she did not stop engaging in that protected speech, according to the lawsuit.

In the complaint, her attorneys said as a direct result of Leavell's actions, the woman incurred economic losses, including lost income, benefits, seniority and medical expenses.

She also experienced significant emotional distress, humiliation, damage to her reputation, loss of dignity and self-esteem, and anxiety, according to the lawsuit.

Her attorneys requested a judgment for non-economic damages for an amount no less than $1 million.

For questions, comments and news tips, email reporter Whitney Woodworth at wmwoodworth@statesmanjournal.com, call 503-910-6616 or follow on Twitter at @wmwoodworth

This article originally appeared on Salem Statesman Journal: Salem 911 dispatcher sues city over denial to testify in trial