City of Dubuque Settles Lawsuit With Former Police Captain

The City of Dubuque has reached a $1.8 million settlement with a former female police captain who sued the city and Police Chief Mark Dalsing in 2019 on the grounds of gender discrimination, harassment and retaliation. Abby Simon’s lawsuit claimed that in 2016 and in 2017, she was passed over for a promotion to captain despite receiving better test and interview scores than the two men who received the promotions. In addition to discrimination against her, the lawsuit alleged there was a broad issue with sexism and discrimination in the department. The settlement agreement, approved by City Council members on Monday night, includes payments of $975,000 to Simon for claims of emotional distress and just over $47,000 in wages.