A Calgary police officer has launched a lawsuit against the Calgary Police Service, the office of the chief of police, the Calgary Police Association and the City of Calgary citing allegations of sexual harassment, intimidation, and a violation of her Charter rights, over the course of her career.

Kim Prodaniuk, 39, claims the defendants, either individually or collectively, tolerated, ignored and condoned the conduct.

Prodaniuk started as an officer in 2008 and left on stress leave in 2017.

That same year, she joined a group of other female police officers who went public with complaints about bullying and harassment. They alleged the CPS failed to provide a safe environment for them.

Prodaniuk's lawyer says that group of women is still advocating for change, within the confines of the service.

"But in my client's view, this was needed to be done and there is certain time constraints, and things imposed by statutes, and that we needed to take action sooner rather than later if we were going to get this before the courts to deal with it," said Brendan Miller, lawyer with Walsh LLP.

Kim Prodaniuk's statement of claim lists several situations where she alleges outrageous behaviour took place. In one case, she says a colleague threatened to spread rumours of a sexual nature about her if she told her bosses about their mental breakdown while on duty.

Branded a rat

Prodaniuk says she told her superior about the threats, and was then branded a "rat" by other employees. The claim proceeds to detail another instance where Prodaniuk says a different colleague said, "so tell me about the best blow job you've ever given."

She says to her knowledge nothing was done after she complained to her superior about the comment.

Kim Prodaniuk, right, attended a 2017 meeting on the Calgary Police Service's human resources overhaul, but said it did not address complaints of bullying, harassment and gender discrimination to female officers. (Mark Matulis/CBC)

Prodaniuk says she was also forced or coerced by employees to pretend to do a number of sex-related acts while undergoing training to conduct investigations into the sex trade.

She says she was told to pretend to have an orgasm while riding a public merry-go-round at Chinook Mall with a child present. She says she was also asked to have a fake orgasm while at a full restaurant.

During that same training, she says, she was told to leave a voicemail on a phone number talking about what kind of sex act she wanted to perform on the recipient. The number turned out to be a colleague's phone number.

Miller adds that because the defendants are government entities, there is also the issue that they breached her rights to equality under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

"It's our position that the reason this wasn't responded to properly is essentially because my client is a female officer, as opposed to a male one," Miller said.

'Not appropriate to comment'

In a statement, Prodaniuk says:

"As the matter is before the courts, I've been advised by my counsel that it's not appropriate to comment on my case specifically. I have been on the record saying that officers who have been enduring the harassment at the CPS have been enduring it for so long that they're desperate and that it has gotten worse over the years. I stand by that statement."

The named defendants have not yet filed a statement of defence. They have 20 days from the time they are served to file it.

CBC reached out to them and in response a spokesperson from the Calgary Police Service issued a statement that said: "We are aware of the lawsuit; however, to respect the civil process, we are unable to comment at this time."

The head of the Calgary Police Commission, Brian Thiessen, responded by email: "The claims in this lawsuit are now before the court to assess. In the meantime, the commission will make sure CPS remains focused on the work underway to create an environment and a culture that prioritizes safety and respect for all employees. We continue to believe that any form of harassment is unacceptable and should be met with the strongest response possible."

Coun. Ward Sutherland, who sits on the commission, says he's limited in what he can say now that it's before the courts.

"Any form of harassment is unacceptable and should be met with the strongest response," he said. "CPS has a duty to keep its employees safe. In the meantime, we will make sure CPS remains focused on the work underway to create an environment and a culture that prioritizes safety and respect for all employees."

'Seemed like a sensitive girl'

The suit also alleges that Prodaniuk went to the members' union, the Calgary Police Association, but was told that she "seemed like a sensitive girl" and that the association did not handle misconduct of other employees, members and officers or "blue on blue" grievances.

In response to the lawsuit, the union's president, Sgt. Les Kaminski, sent the following statement: "We take this situation very seriously and will be filing our statement of defence."

Loss of income, reputation

The suit says Prodaniuk suffered loss of income from being unable to return to policing, the loss of her reputation, and the emotional, physical and mental distress she endured.

The suit does not list a dollar figure in compensation.

Miller says things are fluid and it would be inappropriate to list an amount at this point in time.

None of these allegations have been proven in court.