Former Anamosa officer gets $750K settlement for sex discrimination suit

Amy Ford has wanted to be a police officer since fifth grade, when a Bettendorf cop visited her classroom. After she became one, she almost kept quiet about the sexism she said she experienced in the Anamosa Police Department because she thought complaining would end her career.

But Ford, a 38-year-old wife and mother, decided she needed to come forward for herself, for other female employees and for her daughter, now 9.

“I’m showing Aubrey what it’s like to stand up for herself,” Ford said.

Ford won a $750,000 settlement from the city of Anamosa and its insurer last month, avoiding a trial at the height of the #MeToo movement.

Ford said the size of the award, of which she received nearly $430,000 after legal costs, validates concerns she raised about sexist emails, bias in department purchases and retaliation by police after she complained about discrimination.

Read more: http://www.thegazette.com/former-anamosa-officer-gets-750k-settlement-for-sex-discrimination-suit-20180202