A lesbian former officer with the National City Police Department (NCPD) in Southern California has been awarded $10 million in damages over her lawsuit against the department for the harassment and discrimination that she endured there.

Ashley Cummins, who is now a mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter who fights under the name “Smashley,” sued the police department in 2022 with allegations that she had to put up with harassment and discrimination from her coworkers for about a year as she worked in the department, both because she is gay and because she is a woman.

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Her lawsuit, which was filed with the Superior Court of California in San Diego County, said, “Many of the male officers and supervisors indicated that if female officers wanted to fit in at NCPD, they either needed to be submissive to the male officers or sleep with them.”

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Her lawsuit listed several incidents of discrimination that she suffered from, including being passed over for a position with the K-9 unit that went to a male colleague who didn’t have as much experience as she did. She said that even when women got promotions in the department, other officers would say that they weren’t qualified and that they only got promoted in exchange for sex.

Cummins also said that, one time, another officer intentionally failed to search a homicide suspect for a weapon and didn’t tell her, putting her in danger, according to KNSD. In another incident, she was told to leave a crime scene for no reason. Sometimes, other officers would just yell at her over the police radio.

She alleged superiors discouraged women from complaining about departmental harassment and discrimination. She said she complained several times about her colleagues’ behavior, but her supervisors did nothing.

Cummins even said that one male officer bragged about how he had been the target of a discrimination complaint in the past.

“Don’t be that cop,” he said, according to her lawsuit. “If you do that, you’ll be just another female cop who plays [the female card] because she can’t handle National City. Things will just get worse for you if you do that.”

National City Councilmember Marcus Bush said that Cummins’ experiences “[are] not reflective of our entire department, but there is, it’s a concern that we need to look into and address fairly as a city,” but he voiced a need for accountability in the police department.

The city’s attorney said that they’re considering an appeal.

“The city is extremely disappointed with the outcome and is currently reviewing all of the legal options, including a possible appeal,” Barry Schultz, National City attorney, said. “The city remains committed to ensuring a fair and inclusive workplace for all employees.”

The jury found that the police department was liable for harassment and discrimination and awarded Cummins $10 million in damages, including $166,000 in lost wages, $1.4 million in future economic losses, and $8.4 million for past and future non-economic losses. The department’s budget is $33 million a year.

“We always believed our client was wronged and had viable legal claims for sexual harassment and discrimination,” her attorneys said in a statement. “We are grateful the jury found for our client on all accounts and awarded a just verdict.”

“Ashley feels vindicated and is overcome with emotion,” the attorneys added.

According to the San Diego Union-Tribune, Cummins started working with the National City Police Department in 2018 after working with national FBI and Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) task forces. The harassment and discrimination didn’t intensify until two years later, in March 2020.

She works part-time training officers now. She has tried to get a job with other police departments but says that she can’t because of the lawsuit.

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