Trace Christenson

Battle Creek Enquirer

Four present and former female Battle Creek police officers will divide a $52,000 settlement in their locker room surveillance lawsuit.

The City of Battle Creek announced the amount Wednesday after final wording of the settlement between the officers and the city was approved by both sides this week. The city commission approved the settlement Feb. 16.

The suit stems from the decision by police department officials to use video surveillance in January 2013 in the women's locker room to investigate allegations of theft.

Several female officers complained that money and other items were missing from or were tampered with in the locker room. The city said the investigation was led by a female officer and the camera was installed and was used to record over three shifts for 27 hours.

The footage showed one female officer going through coats in the locker room. One of the plaintiffs, Laurie Gillespie, admitted to taking money. She was fired in March 2013.

Attorneys for Gillespie, Jennifer Appl, Jennifer McCaughna and Shawn O'Bryant filed the suit, alleging civil rights violations involving privacy and citing the Fourth Amendment, which protects against unreasonable government intrusion.

The city said the footage showed only one instance of an officer in any state of undress and she was briefly seen from the waist up wearing a sports bra.

Along with the city, the lawsuit named former Police Chief Jackie Hampton, former Deputy Chief James Saylor, former Inspector Maria Alonso, then-Deputy Inspector Randy Reinstein, Lt. Steven Bush and Sgt. Chad Fickle.

In its prepared statement, the city denied any wrongdoing concerning the internal review and maintained that the limited search complied with constitutional standards.

Although the city continues to assert that there was never any constitutional violation, the City Commission agreed to the settlement to offset costs and litigation risks, according to Jill Steele, city attorney.

Attorneys for the plaintiffs and the city have disputed the legality of installing the cameras and whether the city had sought a legal opinion before they were used.

Only O'Bryant remains with the department. McCaughna is retired and Appl resigned in April 2013.

Contact Trace Christenson at 966-0685 or tchrist@battlecreekenquirer.com. Follow him on Twitter: @TSChristenson