A jury in St. Louis has awarded a gay police sergeant nearly $20 million in a discrimination case involving claims that the department failed to promote him based on sex stereotyping and retaliated against him for filing a lawsuit.

The sergeant, Keith Wildhaber, 47, said that he was told to “tone down” his sexuality while working for the St. Louis County Police Department, and that he was transferred to another precinct after he filed a discrimination complaint.

The county executive released a statement Monday promising leadership changes to the police board, which oversees the police chief.

“Our police department must be a place where every community member and every officer is respected and treated with dignity,” Dr. Sam Page, the county executive, said on Twitter. “Employment decisions in the department must be made on merit and who is best for the job.”