| RELATED: Police1 survey reveals harassment and discrimination of female officers<\/a><\/p>\n The City Council approved the settlement during a closed session meeting in November. Fresno Police Chief Mindy Casto declined to comment on Wednesday.<\/p>\n The lawsuit was \u201camicably resolved,\u201d according to Szatmari\u2019s attorney, Nick Yasman of Los Angeles -based West Coast Employment Lawyers. He declined to comment further.<\/p>\n Szatmari was promoted to sergeant of the K-9 and mounted patrol unit in September 2020, what her lawsuit had previously described as a \u201cdream job.\u201d<\/p>\n A series of the text messages were released to The Bee in 2023, about six months after the lawsuit was filed<\/a>.<\/p>\n The text messages to the group thread included one of a turkey being stuffed by hand that has an animated face with its eyes wide open. \u201cOh yes! Stuff me! Stuff me real hard!\u201d the text says.<\/p>\n Another in the same conversation showed a cooked bird with what appears to be a human penis between its legs, the lawsuit said. \u201cOur Turkey is already ready to Eat,\u201d a follow-up text says.<\/p>\n A third image shows a closeup of a rooster with a pronounced wattle and makes a crude joke about male genitals.<\/p>\n Days after being promoted, Szatmari was allegedly told by a lieutenant that the K-9 unit existed under \u201cVegas rules,\u201d referring to a tourism ad campaign in Las Vegas. \u201cWhat happens in the K-9 field, stays in and at the K-9 field,\u201d the lawsuit claimed the lieutenant said.<\/p>\n The text messages in the lawsuit also listed a number of other instances involving officers in the same unit in which they shared racist stereotypes of Latinos and sent a barrage of homophobic accusations at one another.<\/p>\n The lawsuit said Szatmari\u2019s attempts to end the inappropriate dialogue went nowhere, and often only intensified the harassment. Those included repetitive jokes about a sex doll during a work retreat for the unit and sexual references about the sergeant\u2019s sister.<\/p>\n Following the sex doll incident, a lieutenant told Szatmari, \u201cthe boys get to do what the boys get to do, no questions asked,\u201d the lawsuit said.<\/p>\n The lawsuit said the ordeal took a toll on her mental well-being, leading to panic attacks and anxiety.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n \n \u201cThe type of collision that happened, our officers are very fortunate,\u201d St. Louis police Chief Robert Tracy said\n <\/p>\n January 31, 2026 08:00 AM<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n \n The proposal would add additional penalties of up to a year in prison or an additional fine up to $2,500 or both for people who wear face coverings while breaking the law\n <\/p>\n February 01, 2026 07:00 AM<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n \n The Pierce County deputy pulled the driver from the burning truck, then attempted to put out the fire with the help of a bystander\n <\/p>\n February 01, 2026 08:00 AM<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n \n The woman was charged with attempted murder of an officer after bringing juice bottles filled with gasoline into a Miami Dade Sheriff\u2019s Office station and setting it ablaze\n <\/p>\n January 31, 2026 07:00 AM<\/p>\n \u00a92026 The Fresno Bee. Visit fresnobee.com<\/a>. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.<\/a><\/p>\n![\"Screenshot](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/1769986589_591_.png\")
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