ATKINSON, NE — Atkinson’s police chief is being sued in US District Court for discrimination after allegedly saying, “the community [wasn’t] ready for a female police officer.”
Rhonda Olson filed a lawsuit against Chief of Police Tim Larby and the city of Atkinson on February 6th alleging a violation of her constitutional right to equal protection under the law.
According to the complaint filed in US District Court, Olson applied for a job as a police officer in Atkinson. She was rejected despite being a graduate of the Nebraska Law Enforcement Training Center, having a degree in criminal justice and law enforcement experience. Larby hired his brother-in-law instead and, according to the complaint, told Olson he didn’t care about certifications and hired who he thought was best for the position.
Later, Olson was hired as a police officer in Yankton, South Dakota. The Yankton PD interviewed Larby for a background check on Olson. In the official YPD report, the interviewer says, “(Larby) stated he doesn’t think the community is ready for a female police officer and that wasn’t a battle he was willing to take on…”
Discrimination cases have a four-year statute of limitations in Nebraska but Olson argues the incident falls within the four years because she did not learn of the chief’s comments until a year ago.
Larby has until February 27th to respond to the charges. He did not respond to a message left by News Channel Nebraska.
