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Jury: Seattle owes two cops $2.8 million in overtime pay

By Shawn Price

SEATTLE, July 25 (UPI) -- A jury on Monday found Seattle Police Chief Kathleen O'Toole retaliated against two police officers in an overtime pay dispute that has led to a $2.8 million payout.

The King County jury found O'Toole pushed the officers to leave the South Precinct after Sgt. Ella Elias blew the whistle on an overtime program she believed benefited friends of a former assistant police chief. Two other officers stood up for her, one of which the jury found was also retaliated against, a third was not.

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The two-week trial was left to the jury on Friday, after O'Toole took the stand telling jurors she inherited an already troubled precinct in 2014, but the precinct's top officers put the trouble on O'Toole reaction to Elias calling out the overtime program.

"I'm just grateful that they listened to us," said Elias, who was awarded $1.9 million. "For me, it's been five years this has been going on. So it's been a long time."

Capt. David Proudfoot, who was awarded $932,000, expressed mixed emotions; grateful for the overall decision, but disappointed fellow officer Lt. Steve Strand wasn't also seen as retaliated against.

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City Attorney Pete Holmes said in a statement he was "profoundly disappointed in the jury's decision.

"If allowed to stand, this verdict leaves the city in a no-win situation: Had Chief O'Toole not addressed the hostile, racially-tainted work environment she encountered, the city likely would have been held financially liable."

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