Four Phoenix police officers accused of showing photos of corpses in a video slide show during a holiday party have filed a $2.9 million notice of claim against the city.

The officers say they were suspended and demoted from the night detective squad to routine patrol earlier this year after the department received an anonymous complaint about the video. Their unit had worked non-criminal deaths, such as suicides, drug overdoses and grisly car accidents.

Officers Courtney Mayo, Howard Pacifico, Brandy Villareal and Jeffrey Johnson state in the claim that the city improperly characterized the video, defamed them and caused severe emotional distress. They are seeking monetary damages, and they want the department to reinstate them to their old positions.

Phoenix officials were served with the claim late last week. They said an internal investigation into the officers' actions is being conducted.

When the incident came to light in February, acting Police Chief Joe Yahner and Mayor Greg Stanton swiftly condemned the officers' actions, saying they were outraged that the officers had shown victims of crime in an inappropriate manner. The department also put two supervisors in the night unit on administrative leave.

"I am extremely disappointed in the unprofessional conduct and the total lack of respect shown to those we are trusted to serve," Yahner said at the time.

Mayo said the city's actions resulted in the loss of her first child due to a second-term miscarriage, which her obstetrician attributed to stress. The claim says she was portrayed as a "monster" and could not defend herself because of a departmental gag order.

"No matter what demand could be made upon the city, nothing will ever restore what she lost," the notice states.

Phoenix spokesman Jon Brodsky said the city is reviewing the claim and could not comment. The Police Department's internal inquiry continues, but the officers have returned to work and have been cleared of any criminal conduct.

Brodsky said the officers were reassigned to positions in patrol, not demoted as they contend. He said their pay-rates did not change.

A notice of claim is a precursor to a lawsuit and is required before somebody can sue a government entity. Mayo is asking for $2 million to settle the dispute; the other officers are each asking for $300,000.

According to the claim, the officers said they showed the video once, at a party last December with members of their squad, and it included 28 photos of non-homicide death investigations. They contend the slide show was personal and documented "memorable moments, experiences and inside jokes the squad had shared that year."

Their claim states that city officials made defamatory comments about the officers before the department properly investigated the situation and that the officials created a false perception that the photos depicted victims of crimes.

Republic reporter JJ Hensley contributed to this article.