Thursday, March 10, three female South Haven Police Department officers filed a federal civil rights lawsuit alleging they were victims of sexual harassment and discrimination.

Their suit names Rod Somerlott, former 18-year chief of police; Brian Dissette, current city manager of South Haven; and Kevin Anderson, former city manager of South Haven and current Dowagiac city manager, as defendants.

“While there’s disagreement with the basis of the complaint, the rights of employees to seek legal recourse if they feel the policies are not being followed is respected,” City Attorney Mark A. Westrate said in a written statement Tuesday afternoon.

“As a matter of respect and practice,” Westrate continued, “the City of Dowagiac staff and officials will not discuss the specifics of any case in a public forum, even when we believe the allegations are false. The commitment of the city government is to provide quality services to a community in a fashion that reflects the shared values of respect and civility.

“In rare cases where employees feel it is necessary to use the courts to resolve a disagreement, fair and reasonable due process to insure that the matter is addressed in a timely fashion is encouraged,” Westrate concluded.

The 22-page lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court alleges that their former chief, who retired last March, subjected Shawn Olney, Tammy Rumler and Natalie Thompson to sexual discrimination and harassment which city leaders failed to stop.

Officers allege Somerlott said female officers who were pregnant would not be granted light duty and “that men have enough to deal with when female officers get their periods every month.”

Somerlott also said women should not be police officers and that he denied light duty for three separate pregnancies “explaining that ‘pregnancy is a choice,’ ” according to the suit.

The officers blame Dissette and Anderson, Dowagiac city manager since 2008, for “failure to take prompt corrective action, failure to follow their own written disciplinary steps and their use of what was called a training session about ‘harassment in the workplace’ to harass, intimidate and retaliate against” the three women.

They allege Somerlott refused to provide them with ankle holsters for their backup weapons, despite the fact their bullet-proof vests preclude them from carrying the weapon on the vest. The suit says vests for male officers allow them to carry their backup weapons on the vests.

Officers allege Anderson suspended Somerlott for four days in 2006 “for his harassment” of Thompson and warned Somerlott that similar behavior in the future may result in termination, according to the lawsuit, which says Anderson suspended Somerlott again for four days in October 2007 and gave him the same warning for harassing Rumler.

The suit seeks damages for “emotional distress, physical damages, mental anguish, anxiety, damage to professional reputation, embarassment and humiliation.”