An Arapahoe County sheriff’s deputy, who was suspended without pay for 19 months while she resolved the criminal and internal affairs charges against her, failed to show she was treated worse than male employees under similar circumstances, a federal judge ruled last month.

Lindsey Traxler had worked in the sheriff’s office for eight years when, in early 2018, Elbert County prosecutors charged her with multiple offenses related to domestic violence. Although Traxler insisted she was not the aggressor, she pleaded guilty to assault.

During the criminal proceedings and the subsequent departmental investigation, she received no pay. Traxler then sued Sheriff Tyler S. Brown, claiming she experienced gender discrimination. Other male deputies, and Brown himself, had received pay following their own acts of misconduct, Traxler contended.

But in an April 26 order, U.S. District Court Judge Nina Y. Wang sided with Brown. After examining the circumstances of several Arapahoe County sheriff’s personnel who had reportedly received more favorable treatment, Wang concluded they were not similar to Traxler after all.

“It is undisputed that the Sheriff’s Office has a practice of placing employees charged with felonies or non-traffic misdemeanor offenses on unpaid leave,” Wang wrote, “which suggests that the Sheriff’s Office considers criminal charges of this nature to be serious enough to require that the employee in question no longer be present in the workplace.”

Casey J. Leier, an attorney for Traxler, said in a statement that Traxler disagreed with the judge’s decision to not send the case to a jury, and that “Ms. Traxler stood up for herself and other women by revealing a ‘good old boys’ club’ protecting their own.”

The sheriff’s office did not respond to a request for comment.

On Feb. 17, 2018, there was a physical altercation between Traxler and her boyfriend, sheriff’s Sgt. Brett Cohn. The two disagreed about who was the aggressor, but Traxler later insisted she had committed, at most, harassment. Nonetheless, authorities in Elbert County responded and prosecutors ended up charging Traxler alone with assault, child abuse and false imprisonment.

The sheriff’s office placed her on unpaid administrative leave pursuant to the organization’s policy. Eventually, Traxler pleaded guilty to assault and the charges were dismissed once she successfully completed a conditional period of probation.

The internal affairs investigation then commenced. An investigator found Traxler violated four departmental policies and recommended Traxler’s termination. An appeals panel largely agreed, noting that Traxler was subject to a protection order due to the domestic violence offense. Therefore, it was “impossible to reinstate Deputy Traxler” without her coming into contact with Cohn and violating the protection order.

The sheriff, however, ultimately chose not to fire her. Because Traxler successfully modified the protection order to address her proximity to Cohn and her ability to possess firearms, Brown felt “she could learn from the experience and could remain a productive employee.” He reinstated Traxler, albeit without back pay for the 19 months she spent on administrative leave.

Traxler then sued, alleging she was owed at least $127,880 in pay.

“Other deputy males also have been issued pay during periods of administrative leave, while other, female deputies and/or other female employees have not been issued pay during periods of administrative leave,” her lawyers wrote. “This represents clear differential treatment between males and females.”

Traxler claimed violations of state and federal civil rights law based on gender discrimination.

In moving for judgment in Brown’s favor, the county’s lawyers looked at several male employees who had also been charged with crimes and who had been found to violate departmental policies, like Traxler had. While Traxler’s unpaid suspension of 19 months was longer than the men’s suspensions, she was the only one who kept her job.

John Beck, Joseph Benson, Karl Biemel, Brian Brink, Kevin Syracuse and Jeff Vincent all had convictions for criminal charges and either resigned or were fired. In addition, several other men were accused of misconduct, but were not placed on unpaid leave because prosecutors never charged them. Brown was among them, having grabbed a man’s throat during a 2021 altercation.

For the six men who were criminally charged, “Plaintiff was treated at least in an equal manner, if not more favorably,” argued Senior Assistant County Attorney Daniel C. Perkins. “The evidence demonstrates the Sheriff routinely places employees of both sexes on unpaid suspension when charges of felonies or non-traffic-related misdemeanors are filed or imminently will be filed against the employee.”

Perkins added that Traxler’s unpaid suspension lasted longer because her criminal case and her internal affairs appeals prolonged the resolution.

Wang agreed with the county that Traxler was not similar to the male employees who had not been charged and found guilty of crimes. Consequently, no jury could conclude she was treated less favorably than any men in her shoes.

The judge also rejected Traxler’s catchall argument that Brown maintained unwritten policies that “have favored males and disfavored females in practice.”

“Ms. Traxler insists that there is some employment practice that disfavors women, but this purported practice is undefinable, not written down, not explained or described to employees, went into effect at an unknown time, may or may not be applied consistently, and may be changing as time passes,” Wang wrote. “Respectfully, Plaintiff’s argument is inadequate.”

The case is Traxler v. Brown et al.

Editor’s note: This article has been updated with a statement from Traxler’s attorney.