Mediation session fails in suit 3 female supervisors filed against Topeka and police chief

Tim Hrenchir, Topeka Capital-Journal
Updated ·2 min read
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Topeka's city government and three female police supervisors who are suing it alleging gender discrimination were unable to reach a settlement during a July 7 meeting with a mediator, federal court records show.

The session with mediator Larry Rute lasted 30 minutes, said a report filed last week by J. Philip Gragson, who is among the attorneys representing the city in the case.

Topeka police Capt. Jennifer Cross, shown here, is among three female police supervisors pursuing a discrimination lawsuit against Topeka's city government.
Topeka police Capt. Jennifer Cross, shown here, is among three female police supervisors pursuing a discrimination lawsuit against Topeka's city government.

Has a trial date been set?

The mediation session was ordered by U.S. Magistrate Judge Rachel E. Schwartz.

Schwartz has scheduled a pretrial conference in the case to take place Nov. 8, with the court planning to subsequently set the case for trial.

What's the lawsuit about?

Topeka police Maj. Jana Harden, left, comforting a woman near the scene of a fatal explosion in 2012, is among three female police supervisors who are pursuing a gender discrimination lawsuit against Topeka's city government.
Topeka police Maj. Jana Harden, left, comforting a woman near the scene of a fatal explosion in 2012, is among three female police supervisors who are pursuing a gender discrimination lawsuit against Topeka's city government.

Attorneys representing Topeka police Capt. Colleen Stuart, then-Capt. Jana Harden and then-Lt. Jennifer Cross filed a three-count federal civil suit Jan. 18 demanding $1.5 million in U.S. District Court against the city of Topeka and police Chief Brian Wheeles.

Their lawsuit alleges the city "treats female officers differently than male officers to the detriment of those female officers and the department," and passed the three over for promotion because they are women.

Stuart, Harden and Cross demanded a jury trial and asked that it be held in Kansas City, Kansas. The trial is expected to last seven days, court records say.

Is 30 minutes short for a mediation session?

The 30-minute mediation conference held July 7 was much shorter than the most recent previous mediation conference in a federal case involving Topeka's city government, which lasted three and a half hours. That session was in March 2021 as part of the proceedings a lawsuit alleging excessive force by a Topeka police officer.

Jurors in that case subsequently ruled in favor of the officer.

Has Topeka since promoted any of the women who filed the suit?

Stuart, Harden and Cross remain with the Topeka Police Department.

That department effective April 1 promoted Harden to the rank of major and Cross to the rank of captain, said Gretchen Spiker, the city's communications director.

The promotions aren't related to the lawsuit, she said.

Contact Tim Hrenchir at threnchir@gannett.com or 785-213-5934.

This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: City of Topeka and 3 officers suing it are unable to reach settlement