ST. LOUIS — A former city of Bellefontaine Neighbors employee is suing a police department and public officials, citing alleged sexual discrimination and sexual harassment.
Kim R. Thien filed a complaint July 17 in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri Eastern Division against city of Bellefontaine Neighbors, Bellefontaine Neighbours Police Department, Major Robert J. Doerr, et al. alleging the defendants violated the Department's General Order 2-18, in which personal likes or dislikes were not to be part of a performance evaluation.
According to the complaint, the plaintiff alleges that starting in 2014, she was subjected to a series of sexist and personally disparaging comments by Doerr that allegedly continued throughout her employment. Despite reporting her concerns to her supervisors, they refused to assist her. As a result, Thien claims she elected to resign to her position and suffered emotional distress.
The plaintiff holds the defendants responsible because they allegedly failed to treat the plaintiff equally because of her gender, failed to conduct an investigation into the alleged harassment and retaliated against the plaintiff following her decision to express her concerns.
The plaintiff requests a trial by jury and seeks judgment for the costs of action, together with attorneys' fees, and such other and further relief to be equitable and just under the circumstances. She is represented by John M. Lynch of The Law Offices of John M. Lynch LLC in Clayton.
U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri Eastern Division case number 4:17-cv-01979-JMB