Former Police Officer Sues Department Over 'Retaliation' Following Sexual Harassment Claims

An ex-officer is taking the South Bend Police Department to court stating a number of allegations came down on her after she filed sexual harassment and sexual discrimination charges against the department.

Joy Phillips is suing the SBPD with a retaliation lawsuit in a trial that started this week in the northern city of Indiana.

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Before filing her complaint in October 2014, Phillips said that she was getting nothing but "attaboys" as an officer. She was working as a hostage negotiator and boxing coach for inner-city youth.

For 14 years, Phillips worked on the South Bend force. In that time, she was written up on three occasions for allegedly violating department policy.

However, in the year and a half period that passed after the complaint was filed, Phillips was the subject of 12 internal investigations. She was suspended more than 50 days as a result of the investigations.

One incident that Phillips was reprimanded for was when she was allegedly "staring" at a victim on a domestic violence call. In another scenario, she was accused of acting rude and cussing at the victim of a different domestic violence call, which she vehemently denied.

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Other charges against Phillips include an exchange with a man involved in a police standoff. She reportedly negotiated without contacting the on-scene commander.

Phillips has since left the South Bend department and is an officer in the City of Elkhart, NBC News affiliate WNDU reports.

The defense contends the time that the incidents in question happened that the new police chief, Scott Ruszkowski, had taken over and was putting all officers' behavior under the microscope.