Former Lincoln officer sues city, alleging discrimination and harassment

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) – A former Lincoln Police officer has filed a lawsuit against the city, alleging that she faced harassment and discrimination, according to court documents.

Sara Khalil, who is also a former firefighter for Lincoln Fire & Rescue, filed the lawsuit on Monday in Douglas County District Court.

The court documents say that Khalil experienced harassment and discrimination in the Lincoln Police Department based on her race and gender.

When she spoke up about what she and other female LPD officers were experiencing, things got worse, according to the court documents.

Khalil alleges that she was targeted and subjected to unfounded internal investigations, denied special assignments and promotions, and ultimately fired.

Khalil is the fourth female officer in the past year to file a lawsuit against the city alleging harassment within the police department.

A former Lincoln Fire & Rescue firefighter also filed a lawsuit against the city alleging discrimination in February.

On Sept. 16, 2020, Khalil filed a Charge of Discrimination with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.  She alleged unlawful employment practices that occurred within 300 days of filing the charge.

Khalil then filed an amended Charge of Discrimination on Jan. 5, 2021, and a Second Charge of Discrimination on Friday.

Timeline of events

In 2011, Khalil was hired as a firefighter for LFR and she worked there until Feb. 2012.  She then joined LPD in Jan. 2013 as a police officer.

in 2014, Khalil reported an excessive force incident and took part in an investigation of Officer Jeremy Wilhelm, according to court documents.

Wilhelm had gotten into an altercation in which he pushed a suspect’s head against a wall.  Khalil was there and reported it.

She also took part in an Internal Affairs investigation as a witness.

After the investigation, Khalil alleges that other officers began to treat her negatively and harassed her, according to court documents.

In one instance, Khalil greeted Officer Parker Rice when she arrived on the scene as backup.

Rice “responded by glaring at her and staring her down with his arms folded over his chest and a disgusted look on his face,” the court document states.

Later, another officer told Khalil that several officers hated her because of the incident with Wilhelm.

She was told by co-workers that Officer Jeffrey Hillbrand had said, “I hope she doesn’t need a backup on a call.”

Khalil took this to mean that nobody would come to help if she called for backup on the radio, according to the court document.

This allegedly caused significant anxiety and panic attacks for Khalil when she had to go to work.

Around Sept. 10, 2015, Khalil was injured in the line of duty, which caused her to go on leave.

Khalil was eventually written up for allegedly failing to timely complete the follow-up on a juvenile assault case that had happened before the injury.

The lawsuit states that the delay was due to Khalil being on injury leave.

Khalil alleges that other male officers have not been written up for failing to complete paperwork while on injury leave.

In Nov. 2017, Khalil suffered a knee injury in the line of duty.

Due to the injury, she had multiple surgeries two surgeries in 2018 and another in 2019.

This caused Khalil to take multiple leaves of absences.  During her recovery, she worked light-duty assignments.

Khalil then filed workers’ compensation claims for the injuries she had gotten in the line of duty.

In the fall 0f 2021, Khalil went on medical leave due to continued pain from the knee injury.

The lawsuit alleges that an investigator that had been hired by the city began to follow her while she was on medical leave.

The investigator had taken a video of Khalil teaching classes to children at the Lincoln Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Center.

On Dec. 15, 2021, Khalil took a functional capacity examination.

The lawsuit states that she answered all questions truthfully and completed the test to the best of her ability that day.

The examination recommended multiple restrictions for Khalil including restraining her from climbing stairs, squatting and kneeling on her injured knee.

Khalil’s attorney then submitted the results of the test to her surgeon, Dr. Robert Dugas.  The surgeon then issued a report stating that Khalil could not perform the essential functions of her position.

On Feb. 16, 2022, Khalil got a notice regarding a personnel hearing that was scheduled for Feb. 22.  The city claimed that Sara had committed insurance fraud and had been dishonest about her knee injury, according to court documents.

At the hearing, Khalil alleges that Police Chief Teresa Ewins would not listen to her and kept calling her a liar.  The city had shown parts of surveillance footage during the hearing.

After Khalil’s firing, Ewins sent an email to the entire police department.  Ewins also released a statement on LPD’s Facebook page.

Ewins’ statements falsely accused Khalil of lying to support her worker’s compensation claim, according to the court documents.

In the lawsuit, Khalil also alleges that she was continually denied promotions and specialized positions during her time with LPD.