SANTA FE — The first female pilot hired by New Mexico State Police has reached a $750,000 settlement to resolve a civil rights lawsuit she filed accusing the agency of a sexist work environment and discrimination.
In the lawsuit, LeAnne Gomez, the pilot, said officers peed and showered in a public work area, an instructor referred to one of her flying lessons as a “$2,000 date” and that she objected to racist remarks, prompting a sergeant to storm out of a classroom.
Attorneys for the state Department of Public Safety, in turn, denied the claims in court, and the state did not admit any liability in the settlement.
Tim White, an Albuquerque attorney who represented Gomez, said they were satisfied with the outcome.
“LeAnne very courageously stuck it out at State Police in the face of very serious discriminatory and retaliatory conduct until for the sake of her health she had to leave,” White said in a written statement.
He added: “Her real one and only goal was to make a change in the department so this would not happen to another officer, male or female.”
Before joining State Police, Gomez worked as a Bernalillo County sheriff’s deputy. She was also a private single-engine airplane pilot and certified to fly helicopters.
Gomez worked as a State Police aviation officer from 2015-19 — the first female pilot in the air unit and first female law enforcement pilot hired in the state of New Mexico, according to her lawsuit.
Her legal complaint — filed in 1st Judicial District Court two years ago — alleges she was “harassed, demeaned, belittled and discriminated against to the degree that another officer there compared her treatment to that of a ‘domestic violence victim.’”
She also says she was retaliated against after reporting misconduct and consistently treated worse than male colleagues.
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The state sought dismissal of the claims and contends the police agency “exercised reasonable care to prevent discriminatory and retaliatory behavior against its employees.”
The $750,000 settlement was signed this week and disclosed as required by state law.
In the suit, Gomez outlines a host of allegations, including:
■ Inappropriate behavior in a hangar where officers worked. One officer peed outside the hanger door even though Gomez asked him to stop because of the smell. Another officer regularly showered in the hangar, where a shower head was affixed to a wall and open to the rest of the hanger.
A lieutenant described the hangar environment as an “EEOC nightmare” because of the sexist conduct.
■ Being invited by a supervisor to his hotel room to discuss work during a conference and a comment about how one of her first flight lessons with him was a “$2,000 date.” The man also told others that Gomez was his wife and commented on her use of cosmetics.
■ Being told that filing documents was her job as the “air unit secretary,” in addition to repeated comments not to “break a nail” when performing tasks.
■ Observing racist and inappropriate remarks about a speaker who talked to police recruits about implicit bias. Gomez said she objected to the treatment of the speaker who’s Black.
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