Former Fresno cop says she was often sexually harassed, and fired when she complained

A former Fresno police sergeant says she was subjected to repeated sexual harassment while doing her dream job and was wrongfully terminated when she complained, according to a civil complaint.

Stacie Szatmari started working for the Fresno Police Department in 2003 and was promoted to sergeant of the K-9 and mounted patrol unit in September 2020, according to the lawsuit filed July 6.

“I was so excited. It’s such an elite unit. And having the ability to be a supervisor, I was just in awe,” Szatmari said in a news release prepared by Los Angeles-based West Coast Employment Lawyers.

“I’m emotional talking about it.”

The Fresno Police Department declined to comment as is typical with pending litigation.

About a month after her promotion, an officer sent a picture in a group text thread of Thanksgiving turkey “with a human penis overlayed onto the neck and head,” the complaint says.

The photo accompanied a message, “Our turkey is ready eat,” the lawsuit says.

Days after being promoted and weeks before the incident with the raunchy photo, the complaint says, Szatmari had been told by Lt. Jordan Beckford that the K-9 unit existed under “Vegas rules,” referring to an ad campaign for tourism in Las Vegas

“What happens in the K-9 field, stays in and at the K-9 field,” the lawsuit says.

The lawsuit also says Lt. Bill Dooley repeated the mantra.

The complaint said the text thread with the turkey also saw other sophomoric images, including a phallic shaped turkey that said, “Oh yes! Stuff me! Stuff me real hard!”

The lawsuit says that Szatmari was embarrassed by the texts and felt uncomfortable, but still felt compelled to react with a laughing emoji so as not to be alienated.

In December 2020, the all-male unit was discussing a blow up doll that would be passed around at a Christmas party, the lawsuit says. Szatmari asked them to stop talking about it, but that only encouraged more talk until she left the room, the complaint says.

That same month, she brought her sister to work. After the sister left, an officer told her, “I wouldn’t mind f---ing your sister,” the filing says.

Szatmari had a meeting with officers in her unit in February 2021, when she told them the sexually inappropriate behavior and the “Vegas rules” had to come to a stop, the claim says.

The lawsuit also names seven officers who attended a K-9-related trip to Adlerhorst International, a training ground, in July 2021 who filled another text group with homophobic and racist images and gifs.

Those also included genitals and masturbation, and the officers made insinuations about sex acts Szatmari would perform, the filing says.

After that trip, the lawsuit says, the officers started spreading false rumors about Szatmari, saying she showered in front of the men and was “a wild child” who acted like a “drunk college kid.”

Appalled by her treatment, she began distancing herself, the lawsuit claims.

Also in July 2021, she was pulled from duty and put on leave. The lawsuit claims some of the officers filed a false complaint to Internal Affairs to get her removed, saying she had exposed herself to the men and danced while serving them tea.

She was then placed on other duties that she believed to be less desirable until an Internal Affairs investigation in February 2022 put her on administrative leave, which meant her supervisors took her equipment and “her beloved K-9, Freyja,” the filing says.

The lawsuit says she took her complaints to Chief Paco Balderrama in August of 2022.

She was terminated in December of 2022. The lawsuit says the ordeal took a toll on her mental well-being, leading to panic attacks and anxiety.

“I’m not part of the ‘good old boys club’ because I chose to keep my integrity,” Szatmari said in the news release. “And here I am without a job. How fair is that? It has completely torn apart my livelihood.”

The lawsuit seeks lost wages, medical expenses, attorney fees and other damages to be decided at trial.

The court case is scheduled for a case management hearing on Oct. 31.