Corrections officer claims he faced sex discrimination and retaliatory demotion, sues Douglas County Commission

A corrections officer with the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office says his supervising sergeant discriminated against him, in part by attacking his masculinity and calling him homosexual slurs.

In addition, the corrections officer, Kyle Appleby, says he was unfairly demoted after he sought workers compensation for an injury and complained about the alleged discrimination.

Appleby filed a civil lawsuit in federal court on Feb. 17, naming the Douglas County Commission as defendant.

The lawsuit requests a jury trial and accuses the defendant of retaliatory demotion and sex discrimination. Appleby is seeking at least $150,000 in damages.

As of Friday, the commission had not filed a response to the lawsuit. The sheriff’s office declined to comment on the lawsuit, and Appleby’s attorney did not return messages seeking comment for this article.

Appleby has worked for the sheriff’s office since 2006, when he started as a corrections officer, the lawsuit says. He has faced discrimination ever since, according to the filing.

Assistant Douglas County Administrator Sarah Plinsky said on Friday that Appleby is still employed with the sheriff’s office.

In 2012, the lawsuit says, one of his supervisors, Sgt. Robert Moffitt, repeatedly referred to Appleby by a homosexual slur and also made multiple comments that he had “drag queen eyebrows.”

On Friday, Moffitt said he had not yet seen the lawsuit, but he had heard the accusations and was “baffled” by them.

“First off, I don’t say those things. I have family and friends that have alternative lifestyles and that’s fine,” he said. “And I certainly wouldn’t discriminate against anybody in uniform.”

Around 2012, Moffitt said, he was working on patrol and Appleby would have been working in the jail, so the two would have had very little contact.

In addition, Moffitt recalled a situation early in his career when he saw someone making comments similar to those in Appleby’s allegations. The memory stuck with him, he said, and he would never want to put anybody else in that situation by making “highly inappropriate and uncalled for” comments.

In May 2015, Appleby was promoted to the rank of deputy and was required to undergo law enforcement training at the Lawrence Police Department’s Basic Recruit Academy, the lawsuit says.

Lawrence Police Sgt. Amy Rhoads declined to answer questions concerning Appleby’s experience with the department.

Throughout the training, Appleby was “subject to other comments by DGSO superiors which reflected their perception that (he) was not sufficiently masculine to be a law enforcement officer,” the lawsuit says. “Including that (he) was ‘too timid’ during certain exercises.”

Moffitt said he did take part in the training; specifically, he participated in the Crisis Intervention Team training and he exercised with the trainees.

Throughout the course of the training, Moffitt said Appleby was never singled out.

Appleby also suffered a back injury during the training and required medical treatment, the lawsuit says. He was placed on temporary work restrictions for more than a week, but soon resumed the full training and “completed basic training and the final ‘Officer Survival week’ with his peers.”

Though he completed the training, Appleby was not allowed to graduate from the basic training, the lawsuit says.

In November 2015, Appleby met with his superiors and, according to the lawsuit, told them about Moffitt’s behavior over the years. Within a week, Appleby was demoted to his former rank of corrections officer and his pay was reduced.

Douglas County salary data shows that Appleby’s salary in 2015 was $44,782, and his salary in 2016 was $42,640.

In May 2016 Appleby’s attorney, Michael Stipetich, wrote to Douglas County Clerk Jamie Shew seeking damages for his client’s injuries, claiming at the time he had only earned “$36,339 annually” and that “his economic damages are rapidly approaching $7,000 and continuing to accrue.”

Different from his annual salary, Douglas County salary data shows Appleby grossed $51,875 in 2015 and he grossed $49,053 in 2016.

Stipetich wrote that if a lawsuit were filed, “Mr. Appleby will seek a total of $300,000 for his compensatory damages.” But Stipetich offered a settlement agreement to the county.

“In lieu of lengthy and expensive litigation, my client will agree to forego filing suit in this action in exchange for $75,000, plus a reinstatement to Deputy with corresponding pay or an equivalent position and pay with the Training Division,” the letter says.

About a week later Appleby was notified that the county was investigating his claim for damages, the lawsuit says.

Moffitt said he was never interviewed by anybody as a part of any formal investigation, something he considers “odd” in light of the nature of Appleby’s claims.

In September, Stipetich wrote Shew another letter amending the original claim to include allegations of sex discrimination. At the same time, Appleby filed a charge of discrimination with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. The EEOC has not made a ruling on that charge.

A trial date has not yet been scheduled for Appleby’s claims.