Aldermen are poised to approve a $3.8 million settlement this week for a former Chicago police officer who said she was reassigned to a patrol shift in a dangerous neighborhood because she complained about abusive behavior by a colleague, even though she offered to stop her lawsuit if the department simply returned her to her old job.
Former police News Affairs Officer Laura Kubiak brought her suit in 2014, only after city lawyers refused to consider her proposal, according to her attorney, Megan O’Malley.
Kubiak said she was sent to a patrol shift from News Affairs after she filed a complaint that another News Affairs officer screamed at her and drew his hand back as if to strike her while at work in 2012.
“Officer Kubiak’s removal from her position as a News Affairs liaison … and reassignment to midnight beat patrol in a dangerous neighborhood was in retaliation for her complaining of and exposing the unlawful conduct of an officer with a history of violent behavior,” according to her suit.
Kubiak retired in 2014, according to city lawyer Renai Rodney.
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Several members of the City Council Finance Committee were taken aback last week to learn taxpayers would be on the hook for the large settlement even though Kubiak offered to not pursue the matter if she was assigned back to News Affairs.
“Somebody has to take responsibility for costing the taxpayers four million bucks in a case that could have been resolved,” said Southwest Side Ald. Edward Burke, 14th.
The full City Council will consider the settlement Wednesday.
The Sun-Times first reported Kubiak was willing to drop the suit in exchange for being returned to her old job.
To O’Malley, the case illustrates why the city needs to change the way it approaches lawsuits.
“I understand that there are lots of frivolous suits filed against the city,” O’Malley said. “But once a case is found to be meritorious, the Law Department can save the city millions of dollars by considering settling these cases,” O’Malley said.
“This kind of dysfunction can’t continue,” O’Malley added. “It harms taxpayers, it harms victims of police misconduct and it harms whistleblowers who don’t believe the Police Department will have their backs if the city insists on trying to fully litigate these kinds of cases.”
Asked Tuesday about the city’s refusal to consider returning Kubiak to her prior post, Mayor Lori Lightfoot declined to discuss the specifics of the case, but said she has taken steps “to make sure that officers who are reporting misconduct have the support that they need to be able to do that.”
Twitter @_johnbyrne
