Wichita police officer to go to trial with sex discrimination suit

Dec. 22, 20086:38 p.m.

A Wichita police officer’s claims that she was sexually discriminated against should go to trial, the U.S. Court of Appeals ruled today.

The 10th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a ruling by U.S. District Judge Monti Belot to dismiss the lawsuit by other women working for the WPD but reinstated the case of Greta Semsroth.

But the three-judge panel said a jury should decided whether the department treated Semsroth unfairly on two of her claims:

  • That she was subjected to a hostile work environment by other supervisors and officers repeatedly referring to her by a derogatory term usually reserved for women.
  • And that after she complained her supervisors retaliated against her by reassigning her to a job on what other officers called “the banishment beat,” in east Wichita, where there are few serious crimes and limited opportunity for advancement.

In the ruling, the judges said:

“The evidence indicates a work environment that was permeated with gender-based intimidation and insult. … The allegations suggest that sexual discrimination remains a concern within the Department.”

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Man headed to trial for threat over policeman’s name

4:50 p.m.

Hassan Ramzah probably can relate a little to verbal assaults on Barack Obama during this past presidential campaign.

A man was ordered this morning to stand trial for criminal threat to Ramzah, a captain with the Wichita Police Department, because of Ramzah’s name.

William Bakker heard evidence at a preliminary hearing this morning that he saw Ramzah’s name on the WPD Web site and called Patrol East. Officer J.W. Kasparek reported he took the call at around 2 a.m. on June 28. Kasparek said the caller appeared intoxicated.

The officer said Bakker identified himself as Jason Sanchez, and demanded to speak to Ramzah, who is African-American. When told Ramzah was not on duty, police said the caller referred to Ramzah with a racial slur and called him a Muslim.

Kasparek said the caller then claimed to have a gun and said “I’ve shot people like that.” The caller also said he didn’t think a black man who was a Muslim should have achieved the rank of captain at the WPD “without being shot.”

Police were able to trace Bakker through the phone number.

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Watch this, before you talk to the police

Aug. 21, 20086:32 p.m.

Many times, I’ve watched prosecutors play confessions to crimes in courts, where the suspect starts talking after police tell them, “You have the right to remain silent.”

Police have told me the act of reading people their rights is actually a way to engage them and get them talking. Officers talk about how surprised they are when people allow them to search their cars at traffic stops. “Did they think I wasn’t going to find the brick of pot underneath their seat?” one said.

Now, most officers I know don’t set out to overstep their authority. They’re trying to do their jobs and catch outlaws.

But even law abiding citizens should know their rights under the U.S. Constitution. A group called Flex Your Rights has produced this video to help people understand those rights before they encounter police (via Underdog Blog):

I asked some defense attorneys to watch the video and give it their review.

Rebecca Woodman of Topeka, who argues appeals for public defenders’ offices around the state, said that the police encounters dramatized in the video are “unfortunately all too common, even though they each far exceed a police officer’s lawful authority under the Fourth Amendment.”

“It’s important for citizens to know their constitutional rights and how to exercise them,” Woodman said, “so that the right to privacy is protected, not only for themselves but for all citizens.”

Kurt Kerns of Wichita also found the video valuable.

“The bottom line is this: our rights are just like our friends and loved ones,” Kerns said. “If we ignore them, they’ll go away.”

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