City to Pay $1 Million in Harassment Suits

The Los Angeles City Council approved settlements Tuesday in two lawsuits filed by Los Angeles police officers who alleged repeated patterns of harassment in their police stations.

In the first settlement, the council agreed to pay a total of $1.19 million to Lance LaPay and Natasha Benavides, both of whom sued the city in 1994 alleging that they were repeatedly discriminated against and harassed at the Newton Division station because they are gay. They alleged that their problems were ignored by their supervisors and that the harassment continued for two years.

In the second settlement, the council agreed to pay $250,000 to Katya Riley, who alleged repeated sexual harassment by her training officer in the West Valley police station. Riley, who has since left the department, charged that the officer harassed her from the fall of 1995 until May 1996.