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Former Surprise Police Detective Awarded $375K In Harassment Lawsuit

Alicia Peterson filed a claim in 2011 against the city of Surprise after quitting the force for what she called months of discrimination and harassment based on her gender and military service.

Court documents say she was harassed after ranking first for a sergeant position in the department, triggering insults and belittling from other officers who applied for the same job.

Documents say the city never addressed her complaints about the harassment and as a result, she left her detective post in 2010 after five years in the department.

Peterson's attorney, Veronica Manolia, said in an email they are happy with the ruling and hope the city resolves the issue without going through an appellate process.

In a statement, Surprise spokeswoman Diane Arthur said the city is evaluating the finding of the court to decide on future action.

The trial began last week and ended as the jury decided Surprise Police Department should pay Peterson $375,000.

Casey Kuhn was a senior field correspondent at KJZZ from 2015 to 2019.