Content warning: This story includes references to and descriptions of sexual misconduct and assault.
Sarah Williams smiled as the photographer snapped her photo. The image would be her academy headshot for the Lincoln Police Department.
It was June of 2013, and the 23-year-old had recently been sworn in as a police officer. She felt nervous and excited about earning her badge. She picked out a modest black-lace top with a white pearl necklace for the pictorial occasion. She parted her hair to the side.
“After I found out I got the job, my dad and I watched ‘Dirty Harry’ and other Clint Eastwood movies,” she said. “He joked with his friends that he was putting me through training before I started the academy.”
Roughly one week later at the station, Williams said, she was sexually harassed for the first time.
“A male officer came over to me and said something about me wearing the pearl necklace in the photo,” she recalled. “He said to me, ‘You know what a pearl necklace means, don’t you?’” referring to the euphemism of a man ejaculating on a woman’s neck or chest, giving the appearance of a pearl necklace.
“A lot of women I looked up to who were professionals in workplaces would wear a pearl necklace,” Williams said. “And I just remember thinking, ‘I don’t want to wear them anymore.’”
She said she didn’t report this incident because she wanted to start off her career on good terms.
Williams and 11 other Lincoln police officers and Lincoln Fire and Rescue employees have filed lawsuits against the city alleging workplace discrimination, retaliation, sexual harassment and sexual assault. Since 2016, Lincoln has paid more than $3.5 million to resolve six of these lawsuits, and at least six more lawsuits filed by current and former LPD officers alleging similar claims are pending in court.
“I would not expect to see that many lawsuits filed based on the size of that department,” said Jonathan Cherney, a national police practices and procedures expert based in Rancho Santa Margarita, California. “That seems high to me, and I can tell you, I’ll refer to the old phrase: ‘Where there’s smoke, there’s fire.’ If you’ve got that many people making complaints with similar allegations, there’s definitely a problem that needs to be addressed.”
In 2024, Lincoln’s police department employed 371 sworn officers. It has one of the lowest staffing levels of any police agency in the country for a city of its size, according to Lincoln.
While the city implemented policy changes in 2022 to address the culture of the department, the department still faces a legacy of lawsuits. Through public records, internal documents, legal records and interviews with former employees, The Midwest Newsroom found the department is grappling with how to handle misconduct, allegations and the persistence of these systemic problems.
Several former officers have spoken publicly about their experiences at the department. For this report, The Midwest Newsroom talked with them and others who filed lawsuits, along with other former officers who have not sued but said they experienced and witnessed discrimination firsthand.
Many of the former employees said they remain in counseling, working through trauma from their experiences as Lincoln police officers. Some changed careers, leaving behind the police work they loved. One woman told The Midwest Newsroom that she struggles to feel safe at any workplace as a result of her experiences at LPD. At least one former employee experienced suicidal thoughts.
In a statement to The Midwest Newsroom dated Feb. 24, Rick Hoppe, who is the chief of staff for Lincoln Mayor Leirion Gaylor Baird, said: “The City of Lincoln does not comment on personnel matters for individual employees or pending litigation. The City also respects the rights of residents to seek redress through the courts. The City has faith in the judicial process and is confident that these matters will be resolved appropriately.”
The statement also said: “The City is committed to ensuring an environment free from harassment and discrimination, and has worked to do so by commissioning a workplace assessment of LPD in 2022 and implementing all of the recommendations from its findings, which included the adoption of a new Equal Employment Policy (EEO) that directs all complaints outside the department for investigation.”
The assessment found that 47% of women who responded said they encountered discrimination while employed at LPD. It also revealed recruitment issues and gaps in the EEO policy.
Unwanted and inappropriate
During the six years that Williams was on the force, she said she received frequent sexually inappropriate, unwelcome and degrading remarks from male officers. She said she received multiple sexually inappropriate Snapchat messages from then-sergeant Jake Dilsaver, who now leads the Special Victims Unit.
UPDATE: Lincoln, Neb. police captain on leave after misconduct allegations raised in news report
Williams said she did not include Dilsaver in her lawsuit out of fear, even though she was no longer working for the department. She said it took her years to decide to share her story publicly.
Williams did, however, show the messages to her then-patrol partner, former officer Angela Sands. Sands, who has also sued Lincoln, wrote in her lawsuit that “Captain Dilsaver sent unsolicited pictures of his genitals to Williams.”
In interviews, four former Lincoln police officers told The Midwest Newsroom that Dilsaver was known to send unwanted messages to female police officers.
Sands’ lawsuit also alleges that in October 2021, despite women coming forward and reporting unwanted messages, Dilsaver was promoted to oversee the newly formed sex crimes unit at LPD.
The Special Victims Unit fielded 3,167 domestic disturbance calls in 2023. Dilsaver’s team also oversaw 1,474 domestic assault reports, 534 protection order violation reports and 1,120 sex offenses that year. Dilsaver still serves as captain of the unit.
The city declined The Midwest Newsroom’s request to interview Dilsaver. The city also denied a request for records of any investigation or discipline that Dilsaver might have received regarding the complaints. Sands’ lawsuit against the city is ongoing.
Lincoln City Council Member Sandra Washington told The Midwest Newsroom that she was unaware of the allegations against Dilsaver and could not comment on an open and active case.
Dilsaver has worked with Voices of Hope, a nonprofit domestic abuse treatment center in Lincoln, on sexual abuse and domestic violence awareness initiatives. He was featured in a video as part of the organization’s “Who’s the Voice, What’s the Hope?” campaign that ran from 2022 to 2023.
Executive Director Natalie Roberts-Day told The Midwest Newsroom, in a statement on Feb. 24, that the goal of the campaign was “raising awareness about key issues facing our community and sharing information about Voices' work by highlighting professional partnerships.”
Roberts-Day said that to achieve its mission, staff rely on partnerships with numerous agencies, including law enforcement. The statement continued, “While we collaborate with these systems partners, we are not privy to their personnel matters and have no influence over whom our partners choose to represent them publicly.”
Roberts-Day said Voices of Hope has removed Capt. Dilsaver’s “Who’s the Voice?” video from its archives in “response to the concerns raised.”
Williams said she also received unwanted messages from Lincoln Police Sgt. Todd Beam. In a text message exchange seen by The Midwest Newsroom, Beam commented on Williams’ body and appearance. One text from July 2015 said: “how nice you look in your bikini and skinny dipping.”
Williams told The Midwest Newsroom that she had to deflect an unwanted kiss from Beam in December of 2015.
Williams included both of these allegations in her lawsuit, where she described Beam as “Male LPD Sergeant ‘A.’” In her lawsuit, Sands identified Beam by name, saying “Sergeant Beam sent Williams multiple sexual text messages telling her how great her body looked in her bikini.” She also wrote that Beam made an “unsolicited and an unwarranted advance” to Williams when he attempted to kiss Williams.
Beam asked another female Lincoln police officer, Erin Spilker, to send him a photo of Williams at an unofficial team lake day, according to the complaint filed by Spilker. Spilker said she was later required to meet weekly with Beam to check on her mental health. Her complaint alleged that Beam asked Spilker about her personal life, children and dating life until she was in tears. The complaint also alleged that, “During Erin’s yearly evaluation, Beam referenced Erin’s vagina several times and made inappropriate comments about her dating life and relationships.”
Beam is now retired.
Williams also received a Facebook message from Lincoln police officer Tyler Lindstedt in November 2019. In the message, which The Midwest Newsroom reviewed, he asked: “Do you have a full bush,” referring to her pubic hair. In her lawsuit, Williams describes the message as “offensive, inappropriate and unwelcome.”
Williams said she reported this message immediately, and to her knowledge, Lindstedt received an eight-hour suspension. The city declined to comment or confirm. Lindstedt received an exceptional duty award from the department in 2023.
Outside of the office
In October 2015, Spilker, who worked for 20 years at the Lincoln Police Department, attended a Halloween party with fellow LPD officers. She said that while in attendance, she was sexually assaulted by a Lincoln police officer.
“I’d been out trick-or-treating with my kids earlier that day,” she said. “We always dressed in family outfits, and my daughter was Batgirl and I dressed as Catwoman. I was in an all-spandex black suit with a little mask and a little utility belt.”
Spilker finished trick-or-treating with her family. She said once she arrived at the party by herself, she joined her coworkers in a game of beer pong.
“I bent over to throw the ping-pong ball to the other end of the table, and a male officer took a finger and shoved it up my vagina through the hole that was in my costume,” she said. “I was just shocked. I kind of jolted up and looked back at him. I didn’t even know what to do, but I also just wanted to not make a big scene as well.”
Spilker said she did not report the assault for fear of retaliation from fellow officers and fear of facing additional trauma.
“I’m really struggling with it,” Spilker said. “Because reporting things is very scary. You’re told your whole career: ‘Don’t make a scene, don’t make a mess, don’t cause a problem,’ so, this time, I just chose the path of least resistance.”
The incident at the party was not a first, Spilker said.
One year earlier, Spilker was at her own home when she was in her kitchen and a different male police officer approached her from behind, placed his hand up her dress and forcibly inserted his finger into her vagina.
Spilker said she did not report this incident for fear of retaliation.
“I honestly was like, ‘What are the odds? Is this something people do?’” Spilker said. “Why is this acceptable? They’re not that blatant with it, unless they’ve done it before, or it’s something they get their kicks off on, right? Like, there’s obviously something that has to go along with that, because none of the men in my life that I respect and love do that. So I just had this genuine belief that God, if they did it to me, then it’s time to speak up, Erin, it’s time to get them off the street.”
Following the second incident, Spilker learned that another female police officer, Angela Sands, experienced similar behavior.
Sands served on the Lincoln police force from 2012 to 2022 and was named Nebraska Officer of the Year in 2016. Sands said sexual harassment started during the training academy, when several officers teased her about her age.
“Because I was 30, and they were all in their early 20s, one guy said I had a dusty uterus, because I didn’t have any kids, and that my ovaries were probably scrambled eggs,” she said.
Sands also remembered connecting with Spilker about a time that the same male officer who digitally penetrated Spilker at the Halloween party, also aggressively groped Sands in public.
Sands said she arrived at a local bar to meet a group of male officers. When she walked in the door, she was immediately greeted by the male officer, she said.
“He tries to give me this big hug, and starts grabbing my ass, and like, basically, groping it, and then two other cops see it and pull him off of me,” she said.
The next thing she remembered is him whispering in her ear to go home with him and rubbing her thigh.
“I kept pushing him away, and then he cups my breast and grabs it,” she said. “I push him away again, and the officer next to him makes eye contact with me, and then immediately looks away. That’s the part that bothered me the most was the number of people that saw everything, and then they would later deny it, and even the two officers who pulled him off of me, and the one who watched him grope me, and then make eye contact and look away because he didn’t want to be involved.”
Spilker often had to interact with this male officer while on duty.
Sands ultimately reported the assaults she and Spilker experienced at the hands of the officer to former Lincoln Police Chief Jeff Bliemeister in January 2020. Lincoln denied a records request for any documentation of investigations into the officer.
“I was certain they would believe us,” Sands said.
Spilker said the male officer was given a polygraph test about the incident and Spilker was asked to take one as well.
“He was given a polygraph by an independent polygraph examiner,” Spilker said. “And they basically said, ‘Erin, we either have to give you a polygraph or we just have to believe him.’ But as a victim, I came to you and said, I was assaulted, and you want me to take a polygraph? You don’t polygraph a victim, and then on top of it, polygraphs aren’t even used in court. They’re not valid for so many reasons.”
Spilker turned down the request to take a polygraph test, and said no further investigation was conducted. The city declined to comment.
"The main reason for not admitting (polygraphs) historically is disagreement in the scientific community about their reliability. It is not good practice to use them with victims.”Sam Clinkinbeard, School of Criminology and Criminal Justice at the University of Nebraska Omaha.
“I had to see him at the station,” Spilker said. “It was the most terrifying experience of my life, reporting, because they allowed him to continue to work in the station, have access, and all I could think is, he knows where I work. There’s nothing keeping me safe.”
The state of Nebraska bars law enforcement, prosecutors and government officials from asking or requiring victims of sex crimes to undergo examination using a polygraph or other truth-telling device as a condition of proceeding with a case investigation.
“Generally speaking, polygraphs are not admissible or used in court, though there are exceptions,” said Sam Clinkinbeard, Ph.D., a professor at the School of Criminology and Criminal Justice at the University of Nebraska Omaha. “Some states allow them if both the defense and prosecution agree, though my guess is that rarely happens."
The male officer in question retired from the Lincoln Police Department.
The experiences and frustrations built up for these women. Separately, they sued the city.
- Williams resigned in 2019 over intolerable work conditions and sued Lincoln in 2020 alleging a toxic work culture toward women within LPD and retaliation against those who reported it.
- Spilker resigned in 2022. She sued Lincoln in that same year, alleging sexual harassment, discrimination and insufficient investigation of complaints.
- Sands was fired in December 2021 for allegedly mishandling evidence. She sued Lincoln in 2023 for discrimination and sexual harassment.
Eight police officers and four fire and rescue personnel have sued the city since 2016, alleging discrimination in some form.
Speaking up for colleagues
Luke Bonkiewicz, a Lincoln police officer for 11 years, filed a lawsuit in Lancaster County Court against Lincoln Mayor Leirion Gaylor Baird and former Lincoln Police Chief Teresa Ewins in June 2024.
In April 2020, Bonkiewicz discussed with then-chief Bliemeister the possibility of conducting a research project that looked at national rates of female police officers being sexually assaulted by male officers. Bliemeister initially had concerns, Bonkiewicz said, but ultimately allowed the project to begin, as long as Bonkiewicz did the work on his own time.
Bonkiewicz alleged that during his time on the force, he saw dozens of instances of sexual assault and harassment, and that he made multiple attempts to remedy the issues, including: helping female officers write their complaints, submitting them on their behalf so they were not traced back to the female officer, and including in an annual review that he had concerns about the EEO process.
He said he was put on paid administrative leave in February 2021.
In early 2021, following the announcement that Bliemeister was leaving his job to work in the private sector, the city of Lincoln began its nationwide search for a new police chief.
Due to the number of allegations of sexual harassment, assault and discrimination reported by officers, four female police officers asked to speak with the mayor and voice their hopes for the next chief.
The Midwest Newsroom obtained the audio recording from the Zoom call.
Each female officer spoke about selecting a candidate from a national search who would “impact the status quo.” Sands reiterated the need to shake up “the good ol’ boys system at the department,” along with amplifying diversity and inclusion initiatives.
At one point Spilker broke down in tears when she spoke about her young daughter wanting to be a police officer. She said, “I don’t want her to be a police officer here, but in your hands, this new position can make a huge difference for law enforcement.”
Officer Sara Khalil spoke about the need to hire a trained chief who could handle EEO complaints appropriately, and Officer Melissa Ripley spoke about the need to address officers’ mental health, along with offering and asking to be on the panel that would select the next chief.
The call ended with Gaylor Baird reciting back to the officers what she learned on the call, and asking each of them what they liked most about working in the department, so she could share those positive qualities with the police chief candidates.
After learning that this call occurred, Bonkiewicz emailed Gaylor Baird’s chief of staff, asking the mayor to select a new police chief who could address “a dark undercurrent of the Lincoln Police Department, a pervasive subculture that marginalizes sworn female officers, ignores reports of sexual harassment and fosters an environment that discourages women from reporting both sexual harassment and sexual assaults committed by male employees.”
“I had hoped that the mayor had taken that listening session to heart,” Bonkiewicz said.
His email included allegations that female officers who reached out to LPD’s former Investigations Unit, now called Technical Investigations Unit, asking if they could provide feedback and suggestions about how to improve sexual assault investigations, were told by LPD investigators that their opinions weren’t needed.
Other allegations included male officers asking female officers when they would get pregnant to avoid work (or avoid discipline) and get off the street, and male officers showing cruiser camera or body-worn camera footage of sexual assault victims (some nude) to other officers.
In the email, Bonkiewicz also said he heard of captains sending photos of their penises to female officers, and a male captain attempted to “groom” numerous new female officers, telling them they had to sleep with him or their careers would suffer.
Bonkiewicz said this list in his email was “not even close to being comprehensive.”
His email was forwarded to then-acting police chief Brian Jackson, who ordered an internal affairs investigation.
In June 2021, Bonkiewicz said he received a negative performance evaluation for the first time in his career, which he attributed to complaints about his attitude from Jackson. Bonkiewicz said when he confronted his supervisor, Sgt. Chris Vigil, about specific instances of a poor attitude, Jackson could not provide any, and Vigil was under the impression that Jackson had to talk to Bonkiewicz several times about his attitude.
Four police chiefs in four years
A panel of community members and an eight-person search committee helped the mayor select a nominee for Lincoln’s next police chief. None of the four women who were on the Zoom call with Gaylor Baird – or any other LPD officers – were asked to be a part of the formal search.
On Aug. 30, 2021, Teresa Ewins, who spent 26 years with the San Francisco Police Department, was sworn in as the first female police chief for the city of Lincoln. The moment felt monumental for the women officers The Midwest Newsroom interviewed.
“I was excited,” Sands said. “I thought, ‘Wow, this is going to be different. A woman, and she’s from California. She’s probably a little more progressive than we’ve had. I was just stoked.”
Sands said that within weeks, Ewins’ demeanor seemed cold and standoffish.
“I started to hear things from people working near her that her recruits weren’t allowed to make eye contact with her, so I was getting a little worried,” Sands said. “Then I went and tried to shake her hand and just say hello to her for the first time, and she just behaved as not a very warm person. And then within her first month or two, she sent me to IA (internal affairs) and said that I was overly emotional in an email.”
Taylor Murphy, a former LPD officer who was on the force for six years before resigning over the toxic culture she witnessed, said the moment Ewins was sworn in, everything changed for the worse.
“It was like she opened the door one day, came in and was like, ‘You’re mine now,’ and kind of gave us all the middle finger,” Murphy said. “I don’t know anyone that liked her at the police department.”
Murphy cited instances where Ewins would not answer basic questions officers had about their day-to-day duties.
Murphy also said that Ewins disregarded and even shunned officers who came forward with allegations or called out sexual harassment in the department. She resigned in August 2022 and has not sued Lincoln.
In October 2021, Bonkiewicz met with Ewins to discuss the women-in-policing project, which involved interviewing female officers who had been sexually assaulted by male officers and improving the workplace culture for female officers.
Ewins called the proposed project a “fishing expedition” and “an insult to every male officer,” Bonkiewicz’s complaint said.
She also claimed that sexual assaults happened only in the 1970s and 1980s and were not still occurring, according to the complaint.
Ewins resigned from her position less than two years into the job, on July 21, 2023. She declined an interview request from The Midwest Newsroom.
Bonkiewicz said he was nominated for a governor-appointed position in March 2022 with the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services and was offered the job, but the offer was later rescinded.
On March 31, 2022, Bonkiewicz was fired from the LPD. His lawsuit is ongoing.
Lincoln Council Member Tammy Ward testified that she received multiple calls from her constituents who were upset following Bonkiewicz’s termination, according to her deposition in a different lawsuit by current LPD Officer Melissa Ripley. Bonkiewicz filed an amended complaint on Jan. 15, 2025, with the new information from Ward.
According to the complaint, Ward requested a meeting with Ewins and asked her during the meeting if Bonkiewicz was fired because of retaliation. Ward said that Ewins replied, “Yes.”
Ward also testified that she would have done things differently to assist city employees regarding her concerns about LPD’s culture.
She said, “I think I would have worked harder to see if I could have swayed some of my peers to have an investigation of LPD at the time. And I certainly would have worked more diligently with Chief Ewins on some issues that were — that had happened under her tenure. Or tried to work with her.”
Ward also had informal discussions “early on” with two City Council members about initiating an investigation, which the City Council has the authority to do, but she did not feel that she could get the necessary votes from other council members to initiate such an investigation.
Bonkiewicz learned of this discussion earlier this year.
“My first thought was I was profoundly grateful that an elected official or someone in a leadership role had the courage to speak up about what was happening,” Bonkiewicz said. “I feel like all I’ve gotten from LPD and city leadership were denials and silence, and finally, someone had the courage to step up and say what you’re hearing about is the truth, and there is a problem at the Lincoln Police Department that we need to address.”
The city responds with a survey
The standard protocol for discrimination training for the LPD includes an online course all police and fire personnel are required to take, according to records obtained by The Midwest Newsroom. It teaches what harassment is, course-correcting and what building a better workplace looks like, along with anti-bias training.
There are comprehension checks throughout the training that must be passed before a training participant can move on in the course and complete it. The participant must successfully complete the course.
Based on interviews with former employees, some of the officers found at fault for discrimination or harassment were disciplined with unpaid hours — some as low as four unpaid hours. The city denied a request for interviews or records regarding disciplinary actions with employees.
Amid allegations of sexual harassment and a toxic workplace, in February 2021, Mayor Leirion Gaylor Baird ordered an independent review of the police department while searching for a new police chief — who would eventually be Ewins.
The city hired 21CP Solutions, a consulting firm that helps law enforcement agencies implement best practices for effective policing.
The findings and recommendations were published in September 2022. Forty-seven percent of female officers, or sworn women, who participated in the survey (16 respondents) indicated they had encountered discrimination or harassment at LPD; both men and women provided examples of inappropriate conduct they have experienced or witnessed; and some expressed support for specific litigants. Williams, Sands, Spilker and Laura Stokey were no longer on the force at the time of this survey, meaning their responses were not among the 16 women who reported discrimination.
Bonkiewicz did not receive a link to the survey like his fellow employees; instead, he said he was required to take the survey in a conference room at headquarters.
Bonkiewicz ultimately took the survey in the police department with his answers projected on the screen while his supervisor watched him.
“So you can imagine that I had to question the validity of this survey,” Bonkiewicz said.
This report revealed that some LPD staff “expressed the opinion that women (and minorities) are treated differently at LPD and allowed to ‘bend the rules’ without consequence” and “that the Department ‘bends over backwards’ to recruit, hire, promote, and give preferential treatment to females and minorities to ensure diversity.”
The findings also included reports of officers believing that women and minorities are treated unfairly and advocated for greater diversity to enhance the LPD. The report noted that the numbers of women and minorities in command and those who worked on specialty assignments continued to be low, despite others’ claims of preferential treatment.
“Bottom line, perceptions as to treatment of women and minorities in the Department clearly differ among Department staff,” the report said.
“The culture a lot of times with police departments is that they will protect their own in certain situations, and then there’s even a smaller circle when you look at police management,” said Cherney, the national police practices and procedures expert. “And so police management will have a tendency of protecting each other as well. So if that’s the situation, then sometimes officers are going to have a very difficult time getting relief or an issue settled, if nobody in management is receptive to their concerns.”
The city said in a statement to The Midwest Newsroom that it implemented all of the 21CP Solutions recommendations from the firm’s findings, including the adoption of a new Equal Employment Opportunity policy that directs all complaints outside the department for investigation.
In addition to the survey, in 2024 LPD renewed its pledge to the 30x30 initiative, a national initiative to help boost the numbers of women in policing. It aims to have at least 30% of female recruits by 2030. In 2020, LPD had 54 sworn women out of 351 officers, amounting to 15%. In 2024, that number was 53.
As of Feb. 23 of this year, LPD said it had 356 commissioned employees. Fifty-six of those employees are female and include: the police chief, one captain, one lieutenant, seven sergeants, 44 officers and two recruits.
“I don’t think it’s a secret that we have problems recruiting,” said Spilker on the 2021 Zoom call with the mayor. “It hasn’t been a priority. We have a beautiful refugee community, we have a beautiful multicultural community that we have been gifted and yet we refuse to have it make us better.”
Williams said she doesn’t have faith in LPD leadership to improve the department’s culture.
“It baffles me that I still hear from folks who are experiencing workplace issues inside of LPD,” she said. “I encourage anyone who is looking at applying to the Lincoln Police Department to rethink their career plans, for their own sake.”
More lawsuits
Several former employees filed suits alleging sex discrimination on the job that stemmed from unsafe working conditions, lack of promotion and racism.
Melissa Ripley, who has worked for the Lincoln Police Department for more than 20 years, filed a lawsuit in 2021 alleging sex discrimination and that her gender disqualified her from advancing in her career and damaged her reputation.
Sara Khalil sued Lincoln in April 2022, alleging harassment based on her race and gender during her time employed by LPD, as well as when she previously worked for Lincoln Fire and Rescue.
Her lawsuit outlined instances where she was told that her baby looked “very white,” that she couldn’t be trusted because she’s a woman of color, and that she was only selected for a specialized position because she was a person of color.
Khalil was fired in 2022, and her lawsuit is ongoing.
Laura Stokey, who joined LPD in 2018, sued the city in March 2024. She said she developed a friendship with a female LPD officer, Stephanie Janiak, and that they had one consensual sexual relationship. Stokey said that after denying further romantic advances from Janiak, she was harassed by Janiak until she left the force in 2022. For example, she says that on one occasion, Janiak came to her house and took down all the photos of her with her then-significant other.
In the lawsuit, Stokey claimed Janiak stopped coming on calls for service with her and her now-husband Joshua Stokey, leaving them in potentially dangerous situations, and starting false rumors that alleged Laura Stokey was lying on reports.
Laura Stokey ultimately reported the harassment to her superior, Angela Sands. Sands tried to file an EEO complaint on Stokey’s behalf. Stokey also ended up filing a complaint. Her lawsuit is ongoing.
Same problem, different department
Some female police officers also reported being sexually harassed by employees of Lincoln Fire and Rescue.
In October of 2017, Sarah Williams said she received a phone call from a male Lincoln firefighter who was slurring his words.
“It started pretty innocent,” Williams recalled. “Then it just moved into more sexual questions.”
He asked her if she had a “bush,” referring to her pubic hair. Williams said she asked that he never call her again and ended the call.
The next day, she said she received a dispatch at work that he wanted her to give him a call regarding a case he was working on.
Williams reported this to her captain at the time, Kathy Phillips, who called him and directed him not to contact Williams.
One month later, Williams and fellow officer Spilker, who also received unwanted texts from this male firefighter, including one that read, “I will give you 2 hours to respond to me, or else,” decided to report the behavior to their respective captains.
Now-Chief Michon Morrow, who was then a captain, opened an investigation. Williams said that once the firefighter learned of the report, he falsely accused Williams of engaging in a sexual relationship with a different fire and rescue worker.
“I felt like my captain, Michon Morrow, at the time was just checking the boxes and didn’t care about me,” Williams said. “There was a lack of empathy or even sympathy.”
Williams said nothing came from the investigation into the male firefighter, and in the spring of 2018, she began to hear rumors that she was still having a sexual relationship with another fire and rescue employee. Williams said this time, the rumors were spread by two other female LPD officers.
Williams reported this to Morrow, then-Sgt. Tarvis Banks and Sgt. Michael Schmidt. To her knowledge, no discipline was given, and then-Sgt. Brad Junker said to Williams there was “no violation of policy.” According to Williams, Schmidt did send a team-wide email informing employees that Williams was the victim of sexual harassment and to stop spreading rumors. The city of Lincoln denied a records request for this email.
The firefighter was “separated from service” in 2017. The city of Lincoln declined requests for an interview and denied requests for records of investigations, discipline or separation regarding him.
In February 2024, Gaylor Baird nominated Morrow, who by then had risen to acting police chief, to replace Ewins. Morrow joined the department in 1997 and is currently the LPD chief of police.
Morrow inherited a department fraught with sexual misconduct and discrimination allegations — a department she professionally grew up in, having joined LPD in 1997. The city of Lincoln declined The Midwest Newsroom’s request to interview Morrow.
When asked about the bad press that the department has been embroiled in, Morrow told the Lincoln Journal Star in August 2023, “it’s not my lived experience here.”
A ‘travesty to the truth’
When Sarah Williams left the LPD, she said she was in a dark place.
“There were days I didn’t want to be alive,” Williams told the Lincoln City Council in 2021. “So I quit. I quit because I didn’t feel I had a choice. I feared for my safety, I didn’t trust my coworkers.”
Williams settled her lawsuit with Lincoln in 2021 and was awarded $65,000. That sum is significantly lower than the settlements the city paid out to former fire and rescue workers with similar lawsuits.
“I settled with the city because I wanted to move on with my life,” Williams said. “I hoped that the lawsuit and talking to the City Council would make meaningful change, but this whole experience has weighed on me more than I can put into words. I take a good antidepressant, and the trauma has lessened over time, but it’s not gone away. I’m less likely to trust people now.”
The former LPD officers that The Midwest Newsroom spoke with shared complex feelings about their time on the force. They highlighted the incredible honor and privilege they felt serving the people of Lincoln and the wonderful work LPD did in keeping the community safe. They shared fond memories of spending time with their colleagues during team outings and working with the community.
Many of the former female officers shared memories of learning from more senior female officers that the misogynistic culture they witnessed and experienced was commonplace in the profession, and it was best to stay quiet.
“And that if I did say something, I knew it wouldn’t be investigated,” Williams said. “It seemed like I had to fend for myself, and things would only get worse if I said something.”
Another theme with the female officers interviewed was the difficulty of remembering every incident because of the stress they endured.
Spilker said she has good and bad days.
“I definitely see the effects of not only the assaults, but also the impact of the environment at LPD had on me professionally and personally,” she said. “I’m slowly learning that work can be a safe place, but this is a process that takes work to overcome.”
For most of the officers who have filed lawsuits, Lincoln is their hometown, a place where they were so proud to serve.
“I think that all I ever wanted to do was just be a public servant,” Bonkiewicz said. “All I wanted to do was just be a cop. That’s it, just serve my community and to have it ripped away from me in the way that it was still really, really hard. When people ask me how I’m doing, I mean, I’m persevering, but it’s exhausting. It is absolutely exhausting.”
“I think about it every day,” Sands said. “I’ve improved a lot since not being subjected to the trauma every day, but I still struggle.”
Many said they want the city to acknowledge that there is a problem, apologize and then address the problems by implementing policies and procedures that make officers feel comfortable and safe in coming forward. Other former officers we spoke with said it’s not about hiring a female police chief, but rather hiring someone who can implement real cultural change.
Even though the LPD said it has implemented the recommendations from 21CP, the officers who spoke with The Midwest Newsroom are not convinced there has been substantive change to the department’s culture and practices.
Looking ahead to the future, these officers hope the city will do more.
Bonkiewicz said, “Chief Morrow told me in her office instances of where she experienced sexual misconduct, and for her not to even acknowledge her own experiences or things that may have happened even decades ago, I think is an absolute travesty to the truth.”
In response to Bonkiewicz’s claim, Chris Triebsch, the chief communications officer for Lincoln said in a statement: “Chief Morrow would characterize that private conversation substantially differently than Bonkiewicz. While we cannot say more about a pending lawsuit, we are confident that the truth will come out in court.”
“Justice for me would be the Lincoln Police Department issuing a mea culpa and taking accountability,” Williams said. “I want them to acknowledge the wrongs they committed and work to make things right for the next generation of women officers. I want them to expunge their problematic personnel and leadership. I want them to fire those who caused harm by way of sexual assault, sexual harassment and sex discrimination. I want the city to hold the mayor accountable for hearing the women’s stories and still failing to take action.”
For others, that means feeling like they can speak and people will believe them.
“The specific thing that will help me feel like I’m officially able to move on is knowing that people believe me and that they believe my story and not the narrative that LPD puts out there,” Laura Stokey said. “My own husband’s parents even questioned my truthfulness through all of this. And I think when people finally see things on the news or hear about a potential trial, not even just with my name, but with Angela’s, with Luke’s, with Sarah’s, with everybody’s that are kind of intertwined. When they finally start believing me, I will finally feel like things are starting to progress in the right way, and I can finally have a sense of peace.”
Tell us what you experienced
If you are a former employee of the Lincoln Police Department or Lincoln Fire and Rescue who experienced sexual misconduct or witnessed sexual misconduct, please consider contacting The Midwest Newsroom through the form below.
We are also interested in hearing from former or current Lincoln residents and students who experienced sexual abuse or sexual assault while living in the city. It does not matter if you reported the experience to the police or not. A journalist might contact you to follow up, but we will not use your comments or name without your permission. You must be at least 18 years old to participate.
If you prefer, you can send us a message via our secure Signal account or even by the U.S. Postal Service. Find that information here.
Please contact Nicole Grundmeier at ngrundmeier@iowapublicradio.org with any questions.
If you need help or support
There are many resources available for survivors of sexual abuse, harassment, assault or domestic violence. Here are two national resources:
- RAINN, or the Rape, Abuse, & Incest National Network, hotline: Call 800-656-4673.
- The National Domestic Violence Crisis hotline: Use the website or call 800-799-7233.
The Midwest Newsroom is an investigative and enterprise journalism collaboration that includes Iowa Public Radio, KCUR, Nebraska Public Media, St. Louis Public Radio and NPR.
There are many ways you can contact us with story ideas and leads, and you can find that information here.
The Midwest Newsroom is a partner of The Trust Project. We invite you to review our ethics and practices here.
METHODS
To tell this story, reporter Lauryn Higgins obtained public records, internal documents, legal records and interviewed five former Lincoln Police Department officers who have filed lawsuits against the city of Lincoln, Nebraska, alleging workplace discrimination, retaliation, sexual harassment and sexual assault. She spoke with several other former LPD officers who have not sued but said they experienced and witnessed discrimination firsthand. She also spoke with a national police practices expert about the number of lawsuits filed, which he said is large for a police force of Lincoln’s size. The article was also reviewed by The Midwest Newsroom’s lawyer. Some names of accused officers or firefighters were excluded because they were not identified by name in the lawsuits.
REFERENCES
“Sexual Harassment of Law Enforcement Officers: Findings From a Nationally Representative Survey” (U.S. Department of Justice | Jan. 1, 2021)
“Frye Standard” (Cornell Law School)
“The 2022 Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) Reauthorization” (Congress | Feb. 9, 2022)
Research on Women in Policing (National Policing Institute | March 31, 2022)
30x30 Initiative (Advancing and Supporting Women in Policing)
TYPE OF ARTICLE
Investigative or Enterprise: In-depth examination of a single subject requiring extensive research and resources.
