COSTA MESA : Bodybuilders Settle Suit Against City

An attorney for two female bodybuilders who claim that police made them prove they were women at a Pacific Amphitheatre concert last fall said there has been a settlement of their claim against the city.

The City Council was expected to discuss and vote on the matter in closed session Monday night, City Atty. Thomas Kathe said. Both sides agreed not to disclose the terms of the settlement.

Civil rights attorney John Duran represented Lori Sencer and Bridget Morton in their $1-million claim against five officers accused of harassing the women at a Billy Idol concert on Oct. 27. The two were leaving a women’s restroom when they were stopped by police who had received complaints that men were using the women’s facilities.

Sencer, 28, agrees that she does not fit the dominant stereotype of what a woman looks like--she calls herself “androgynous looking”--but said police should not have the right to force such a search. Sencer has been a weightlifter for 13 years and has competed in the sport for the past eight years.

“I’m hoping that they keep me in mind when they think of doing something like that again,” she said. “The cops might think twice or the victim might remember that we did something about it. I’d rather see that than just letting it go.”

One officer reportedly accused Sencer and Morton of being transsexuals and asked them to prove their gender. Sencer produced a driver’s license, but Morton, 20, did not have one with her. The officers then took Morton to a first-aid station where a nurse examined her to determine she is a woman, Duran said.

Morton was not available for comment on Monday. Los Angeles attorney Michelle Vadon Rivera, who handled the case for the city, was also unavailable for comment.

Sgt. Dave Walker, who is in charge of special events and concerts at the Pacific Amphitheatre, said the police department has not changed or increased the training of officers assigned to security there as a result of two women’s claim.

Duran had asked that the Police Department add a sensitivity training program to avoid similar incidents.

Sencer, who along with Morton sought counseling after the incident, said she is ready to put it behind her.

“I made my point and I am making a decent amount (of money)” from the settlement, she said. “But that wasn’t the first issue. The big thing was getting it out in the open.”