Roseville to settle anti-gay harassment suit

A notice of settlement was filed in the anti-gay harassment case that pitted two current and one former Roseville police officers against the City of Roseville. The notice came late Monday, the day jury selection was scheduled to begin in the trial. Plaintiffs in the suit, Roseville Police Department Investigations Supervisor Sgt. Darin DeFreece, Officer Ken Marler and former narcotics detective Michael Lackl, accused police management of fostering a hostile work environment that targeted gay officers and those perceived to be gay. The civil rights lawsuit filed in February 2010 called for unspecified damages. Attorneys for the plaintiffs in the case are declining to comment before the settlement can be officially signed. The city did not return calls for comment by press time Tuesday. The details are expected to be made public as any financial settlement would likely be paid by the city. Roseville's total cost of mounting a legal defense is still unclear. Last year alone, Roseville paid out $196,000 in legal fees to the Sacramento law firm McDonough, Holland and Allen. In 2004 a similar case against the City of Los Angeles brought a $650,000 settlement for two gay police officers who claimed they were discriminated against due to their sexual orientation. A UCLA study done by the Williams Institute in 2009 looked at lawsuits over the last 20 years that involve sexual orientation or gender discrimination and concluded there are more than $30 million in taxpayer losses attributed to paid-out settlements. The study indicated there were many more settlements that were not made public. In March, former city manager Craig Robinson and Police Chief Mike Blair were dropped from the lawsuit as defendants. Blair, 50, retired earlier this month. In November 2009, Roseville City Council voted to terminate Robinson, resulting in a $390,000 buyout of his contract. While there were no facts to hold Robinson and Blair personally and financially liable, Commissioner Margaret Wells indicated there was enough evidence to allow the case against the city to go forward. DeFreece and Marler are currently employed by the Roseville Police Department.