Former Vancouver Police Head of Public Affairs Files Harassment Lawsuit
The former director of public affairs for the Vancouver Police Department has filed a lawsuit against the city, the police force, and a prominent police spokesperson, alleging “gender and racial discrimination, harassment, and bullying.”
In the lawsuit filed in B.C. Supreme Court, Sharmini Dee, who resigned from her position in June, claims she faced systemic and persistent harassment and discrimination from Sgt. Steve Addison and other VPD officers. Dee, who worked under the name Sharmini Thiagarajah during her nearly two-decade tenure at the VPD, is also suing B.C.’s attorney general and the minister of public safety for negligence, wrongful dismissal, and the intentional infliction of mental suffering.
The court documents state that Dee was diagnosed with multiple psychiatric conditions, including major depressive disorder, anxiety disorder, and post-traumatic stress disorder, as a result of the harassment she endured at work. Dee alleges that she was ostracized, belittled, humiliated, and had her career advancement prospects limited due to a culture of gender and racially based harassment and discrimination within the VPD.
According to the lawsuit, Addison, who reported directly to Dee as a media relations officer, engaged in threatening and intimidating behavior, disregarded the chain of command, and told Dee she was unsuitable for her job, suggesting that her position should have been his. Dee further claims that similar harassment and bullying were directed at other female members of the public affairs department.
Despite her complaints to VPD administration, Dee alleges that she was told to accommodate Addison while he adapted to her being his supervisor, leading to retaliatory abuse from other officers that prevented her from effectively performing her job. Dee also claims she was treated differently from her male colleagues and subjected to sexually explicit comments and remarks questioning her competence.
The lawsuit asserts that the city, the police force, and the province had a duty to provide a safe workplace and to educate and train VPD employees to prevent harassment and discrimination based on gender and sexual orientation. Dee alleges that instead of protecting her, the City of Vancouver enabled institutional structures that consistently protected other employees.
Although she resigned from her position, Dee is claiming wrongful dismissal, arguing that the toxic workplace environment made it impossible for her to work in a respectful and productive manner. The lawsuit seeks damages for loss of income, past and future medical expenses, and aggravated, exemplary, and punitive damages.
None of the allegations have been proven in court. The VPD has not yet filed a response to the lawsuit, and a spokesperson stated it would be inappropriate to comment on personnel matters before the courts.