Councilwoman Questions Speed of Boone Settlement

Ward 2 Councilwoman Michelle Hohmeier has questioned why the Susie Boone settlement was approved so quickly when another employee discrimination case from 2011 remains unresolved.

The in the Boone discrimination case. Boone is the city's parks and recreation director. In October, she went public alleging Ward 4 Councilman Ken Moss had harassed her for more than two years. Boone claims the harassment began after Moss' sister was fired from the Parks Department in 2010. 

"Why is it when Ms. Boone files a complaint regarding negative hearsay, the city rushes to make a settlement in six months, and yet the (Alicia) Ott case has never been told?" Hohmeier asked at the March 7 city council meeting.

Hohmeier said when she first joined the council, she was told the Ott case involved a disgruntled employee who tried to quit after she was fired because she disobeyed a direct order. Hohmeier then began reading a narrative she'd prepared outlining allegations in a lawsuit Ott had filed against the city.

"Alicia Ott alleges shortly after she was promoted to detective..." Hohmeier read. "After she had been a police officer for 10 years, a fellow officer began harassing her... She filed a verbal and written complaint with the chief - same as Ms. Boone."

Mayor Ron Counts, City Attorney Bob Sweeney and Police Chief/Acting City Administrator Bob Shockey interrupted Hohmeier several times saying the case shouldn't be discussed in public because it involved litigation.

See related article: Police Chief: 'Convicting My Officers Before Anything Is Done Is Unacceptable'

Hohmeier continued, "For Boone, huge red flags were immediately thrown up. The Ott case was sent to the Missouri Commission on Human Rights and she was given a Right to Sue letter. Boone's complaint was denied by the MCHR, yet her case went right into mediation and settlement."

Hohmeier said there was no rush to negotiate a settlement in the Ott case. She added that the city needed to be fair in its treatment of these types of cases.

Hohmeier added, "Ott alleges she endured harassment for nearly a year from this police department and when she complained again, she was investigated, not the offending officer."

Sweeney said the statements Hohmeier read at the meeting were allegations. He said in an answer to the lawsuit, the city's insurance company denied the allegations.

"It's not a good idea to try your lawsuits in public," Sweeney said in an interview.

Sweeney told Patch both the Boone and Ott cases were turned over to the insurance company as standard procedure. He said the company makes the determination on how a case should be handled.

Hohmeier said she pulled the information she shared on Ott from Missouri Case.net, which is a resource available to the public. However, Patch was unable to find that specific information on Case.net. Hohmeier later told Patch she found the document on Scribd.com.

Patch obtained a copy of the lawsuit filed in October 2011 from Ott's attorney. In short, Ott alleges in the petition that she was sexually harassed by a fellow officer and retaliated against. Ott claims in the lawsuit the incidents led to her being demoted, suspended and eventually fired.

Jerry Dobson, Ott's attorney, told Patch a mediation between the parties was scheduled for April 5. However, he noted that all involved have been very far apart in negotiating so far.