The trial of a lawsuit brought by a Ruston Police patrol supervisor against the Ruston Police Department ended Thursday with the jury’s decision favoring the city.
Jury selection was completed last Monday and by Thursday, testimony had wrapped up. The jury deliberated about an hour before reaching its decision that the evidence did not prove Sergeant Kayla Loyd was the victim of gender discrimination.
In October 2022 Loyd filed the suit alleging she had been passed over for promotions, harassed, humiliated in front of other officers and the public, made to use inferior equipment, and wasn’t afforded the same training opportunities as male officers because she is female.
Loyd claimed RPD retaliated against her after she asked Mayor Ronny Walker for help.
In 2023, U. S. District Judge Terry Doughty considered the city’s motion for summary judgment and ruled the suit could proceed on Loyd’s accusation RPD denied her transfer to the position of criminal investigator on several occasions because she is female.
Doughty quashed several claims alleged by Loyd, including retaliation, a hostile work environment and disparate treatment from other employees. Doughty determined Loyd’s alleged hostile work environment “was not frequent, severe, or humiliating enough to interfere with her work performance as a supervisor.”
The judge wrote in his October 2023 ruling that Loyd met “her burden in proving a prima facie case of discrimination,” noting that during Chief Steve Rogers’s 15-year tenure he had never assigned a female officer to the criminal investigation unit although several males had been so assigned. In several cases, the male officers had less police experience or seniority than Loyd.
However, the jury decided in the city’s favor.
Since the lawsuit was filed, Loyd has been promoted to lieutenant. Such promotions require a successful test score and seniority under civil service rules, largely removing the discretion of the chief to promote a less senior employee.
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