Two police officers sue Dallas for sex discrimination after the women were cut from "high risk" roles

Two officers with the Dallas Police Department sued the city of Dallas this week in federal court, alleging sex discrimination and retaliation.

Both women are department veterans assigned to the Fugitive Unit, which handles high-risk arrests and search warrants.

Senior Corporal Kimberly Howard has served the department for 19 years, during which, the lawsuit notes, she's received 49 commendations and awards. 

Officer Meredith Leftwich has served the department for 11 years. The lawsuit quotes a sergeant's statement under oath that she "has consistently been one of the strongest shooters in the unit."

On March 6, 2025, though, the plaintiffs allege they, along with the only two other women serving as line officers in the unit, had their job duties suddenly restricted without warning. The women claim they were categorized as "partially operational," along with just one of the 26 men in the unit. 

 "Are there any females in SWAT right now?"  

According to the lawsuit, officers with that designation were barred from participating in "core tactical work of the Unit."

Instead, it says they were restricted to roles such as surveillance, uniformed felony traffic stops, and prisoner transport.

The lawsuit alleges the unit's standard operating procedures call for training staff to document any failures by officers, to schedule remedial training, and, if an officer fails remedial training, to decide whether to place the officer on non-operational status. The lawsuit claims none of those steps occurred.

Trainers with the department's Tactical Training Group, who were asked to make recommendations regarding the classifications, allegedly told the unit's sergeants that one of the plaintiffs, Senior Corporal Kimberly Howard, was on restricted status because of her "physical stature," although, the lawsuit claims, a larger male officer kept full status.  

The lawsuit alleges that trainers said another woman was "too nice to pull the trigger." 

When the Dallas Women's Association president, Officer Jennifer Atherton, asked why the unit's female officers had been moved, she said one major over the unit responded, "Are there any females in SWAT right now? Maybe there's a reason for that."

Dallas officers allege retaliation after filing discrimination grievance

Plaintiffs filed a grievance with the police department alleging sex discrimination.

"Throughout the grievance process, Plaintiffs repeatedly requested the documentation supporting their classification and were told none existed," reads the lawsuit.

Records, it says, were created only after the women were removed from full duty, with one memo dated March 9 calling Howard for the first time a "liability" and "safety hazard" with "severe mobility issues."

Seven weeks later, the women said an assistant chief reinstated them, finding that the documentation behind the classification was "not sufficiently detailed and presented in a timely manner."

Dallas Police Chief Daniel Comeaux, though, followed up with a memo in June, according to the lawsuit, writing the women "remain subject to a change in status if determined to be necessary… or if it is in the best interest of the department."

The lawsuit says the department disciplined no one and left the responsible supervisors in place.

Since filing their grievance, the women say they've been subject to retaliation, heightened scrutiny and a more punitive standard. 

Male colleagues, they say, "thanked women who declined to join the grievance for 'not overreacting like Meredith' and for 'handling it the right way.'"

Leftwich alleges she was told she would "not be considered for particular high risk warrant operations or tactical deployments because she was, "under review." 

Male officers with weaker records, she says, received those assignments, and in some cases, promotions, too.

When reached for comment, a spokesperson for the Dallas Police Department wrote, "It is not our practice to comment on pending litigation."

The plaintiffs are asking a federal judge to order the city to rescind memos on file regarding their previous "partially operational" status, prohibit them from being used in any future assignment or promotion decisions, and award each Plaintiff back pay for lost overtime and specialty-assignment pay.