QuickTake:

A former police recruit, who was fired after having a sexual relationship with a Springfield police sergeant, alleges she was treated differently as a woman whose private sex life came under scrutiny.

A U.S. district judge in a ruling Monday allowed a former Springfield police recruit’s claims of workplace sexual harassment to move forward as part of her ongoing lawsuit against the city.

Amanda McIntyre alleges a hostile work environment during her time as a police recruit in 2020, when she was the only woman in her training class.

The city denies her claims, but the ruling by U.S. District Judge Mustafa Kasubhai on the city’s motion for summary judgment allows the lawsuit to move forward in court. Motions for summary judgment claim the law clearly favors a specific decision so a trial isn’t necessary, with defendants typically seeking dismissal of claims against them.

While a recruit, McIntyre, who was 26 at the time, had sex with an officer, Robert Weaver, who is named as a defendant in the lawsuit, according to court documents. McIntyre later had sex with a Springfield police sergeant.

The lawsuit states the department fired her in December 2020, telling her she had lied when she said she did not have a relationship with the police sergeant, who is not named as a defendant.

“Springfield Police Department terminated Ms. McIntyre, but handled discipline for her male superior officers very differently,” Meredith Holley, an attorney for McIntyre said in an email Tuesday.

The city of Springfield did not respond to multiple requests for comment Monday and Tuesday. In court documents, the city has stated the police department “possessed a legitimate, non-discriminatory reason for their actions at all times.”

The lawsuit states that an unnamed officer told McIntyre that other officers had begun referring to her as a “bicycle recruit,” a sexually derogatory statement implying that officers could “take a ride” on her.

The lawsuit also contends that, after she was fired, an officer told her in 2021 that Weaver “had shown sexually explicit photos of her to officers and staff.”

Kasubhai filed his opinion under seal, but court docket information states he partially granted a motion for summary judgment filed by the city, ruling to dismiss some claims made in the lawsuit.

Kasubhai ruled in favor of the city in dismissing a claim that McIntyre experienced a violation of her constitutional right to equal protection under the law. The ruling also dismissed a claim that McIntyre experienced discrimination in public accommodation, given that the police department is maintained by a public body.

Holley said the ruling Monday allowed a claim to move forward that Weaver shared intimate images of McIntyre, as well as a claim that Weaver impersonated her on a fake phone account used to text an officer an image of McIntyre. Kasubhai ruled that the Springfield Police Department, rather than Weaver, will be the defendant for those two claims.

“Holding women law enforcement officers to a different standard than male officers is not only unfair, but it also can be a risk to safety,” Holley said in a statement Monday. “We are grateful to the law enforcement officers, like the plaintiff in this case, who are willing to enforce the law and keep our communities safe, even when it means holding their superiors accountable.”

Also named in the lawsuit are Thomas Rappé, at the time a police lieutenant and Richard Lewis, at the time Springfield’s police chief.