A former Pittsburgh police officer who spent the bulk of her career enforcing animal cruelty laws will receive an $85,000 payment from the city to settle a federal employment lawsuit.
City Council could vote on the payment to Christine Luffey, who began her work in the police bureau in July 1993, as soon as next month.
Luffey, who worked as a community relations officer, filed the federal lawsuit against the city in November alleging disparate treatment and constructive discharge.
She went on leave from the department in April 2024 and retired in July 2025.
According to the complaint, Luffey said her supervisors in the city’s Zone 3 station in Allentown began to target her in October 2023 after they said she failed to appropriately respond to a fight among juveniles Downtown three months earlier.
She also claimed that one of them referred to her as “useless” and a “waste of a body.”
As part of what she believed was action targeting her, Luffey said her bosses asked her to file a special report explaining her actions and then called her in for a meeting a week later where they yelled at her and called her “incompetent” and a “coward,” the lawsuit said.
Luffey claimed her supervisors took remedial action against her, including ordering her to get pre-clearance from them before responding to any animal-related calls and asking her to prepare a proposed agenda for her work a week in advance.
Further, they ordered that Luffey stand for roll call, which she hadn’t been required to do for 20 years, the complaint said.
She was also ordered to undergo remedial training at the police academy.
None of those requirements, the lawsuit said, were put on her male partner with whom she’d responded to the fight Downtown.
Luffey’s complaint also alleged that her supervisors planned to kick her out of her office she’d been using for 20 years and made her use her personal vehicle for work.
Luffey filed a formal complaint alleging a hostile work environment in December 2023, which was sustained by the city’s human resources department a few months later.
Nonetheless, the lawsuit said the investigation was closed, and no action was taken.
On Feb. 28, 2024, Luffey got a call from Public Safety Director Lee Schmidt telling her to retire, the complaint said.
She went on leave in April 2024 and retired as of July 16, 2025.
According to an answer the city filed in the lawsuit, officials denied Luffey’s allegations. They wrote that she had failed to engage in some of her policing duties, including appearing for roll call. They also said that she was disciplined for failure to discharge her duties regarding the Downtown fight.
A spokesperson for the City of Pittsburgh declined to comment. A message left with Luffey’s attorney was not returned.