EL CAJON, Calif. -- Just months after settling a sexual harassment lawsuit against one of her co-workers, an El Cajon police officer says the "vile" conduct continues.
Officer Tina Greer is suing the city of El Cajon and Officer Richard Gonsalves, claiming she has been subjected to a hostile work environment since returning to the department after her first lawsuit was settled.
The second lawsuit, filed Tuesday, claims Greer faces emotional and mental distress on the job while members of the department have retaliated against her. That retaliation includes comments made by male officers, spit on her locker and being forced to work in the same place as Gonsalves, the man who she claimed in her first lawsuit sexually harassed her.
“He should have been fired," said Greer's attorney, Dan Gilleon. "I think he should have been prosecuted. There’s no employer out there in their right mind that wouldn’t fire someone that does that.”
The previous lawsuit claimed Gonsalves sent a photograph of his penis to Greer's cell phone. It also claimed he sent text messages asking Greer and her wife to join him for a threesome. "I'm drunk and I want u! Both of u!" read one of the texts, according to the lawsuit.
Greer and the city settled her previous lawsuit in November. Officer Gonsalves was demoted from sergeant to officer, but Gilleon said that's not enough. He told Team 10 Gonsalves has followed Greer through the hallways of the police department, making her feel uncomfortable.
In January, according to her new lawsuit, "ECPD made the incomprehensible decision to force Officer Greer to work with Gonsalves in her immediate presence."
“For her to settle the lawsuit and then them say, 'OK, we’re fine now, now go back and work with him?' It’s ridiculous," Gilleon said.
The lawsuit states Greer suffers from PTSD that began when she was a young police officer in Escondido and a male officer masturbated in front of her. That officer was fired. The lawsuit claims Gonsalves knew Greer's history and that she was "unusually susceptible to harm."
The lawsuit says the city of El Cajon should have taken steps to prevent the discrimination, harassment and hostile work environment.
"The city failed to take reasonable measures to prevent such conduct from continuing," says the lawsuit. "Instead, they permitted, condoned and acquiesced in the wrongful conduct."
A spokesperson for the city of El Cajon told Team 10 the city doesn't comment on pending litigation. A lieutenant with the ECPD said he couldn't comment on the ongoing investigation.
Team 10 will continue to monitor the results of that investigation.
