Former SBPD officer looks for compensation from city after retaliation lawsuit

Former South Bend police officer Joy Phillips was in federal court today, making her case for up to a quarter million dollars in compensation from the city of South Bend. In November, a jury ruled that the South Bend Police Department had retaliated against Phillips after she filed a sexual harassment complaint, for which she was awarded $35,000.

Phillips was relieved of duty in March of 2016, and began working for the Elkhart Police Department a few months later in July. She explained that South Bend officers earn more than Elkhart police, and have many more opportunities for overtime pay, and is looking for South Bend to make up the difference.

Lawyers for Phillips and the reviewed her tax returns, using her SBPD wages as a benchmark to determine how much she could be awarded for past and future lost pay. Also considered were earnings from Notre Dame, working traffic patrol and security for football games, before she was denied a place on the unit by the university. (This subject was deliberated at length until it was determined that nearly all of the wages she had earned on Notre Dame game days was on traffic patrol off campus, which was paid to her through her SBPD earnings and thus already accounted for on her tax returns. Notre Dame Police Chief Keri Kei Shibata and South Bend Police Chief Scott Ruszkowski each testified to provide information.)

In 2017 Phillips cashed out a retirement account in order to make up for her sudden decrease in wages, incurring a penalty from her bank. Alleging that she would not have needed to access this account if she had not lost her job at the SBPD, she hopes that the penalty will be compensated as well.

Both parties are required to file briefings and responses to the court by March before a judge can make a decision on a payout for lost wages and damages.