City of Santa Barbara Settles Harassment, Discrimination Suit Against Police Department

The City of Santa Barbara has settled a lawsuit filed against its police department by a female parking enforcement officer who claimed she was sexually harassed and verbally abused by two male superiors. 

The plaintiff, Pamela Boucher, said she was subjected to daily bullying and degrading conduct by Commander Joshua Morton and Sergeant Allan Tuazon, including viewing a naked photo of Morton. Boucher described her work environment as “Hell on Earth” that prompted an internal affairs investigation and ultimately her legal action.

Boucher sought financial damages, though the final settlement figure was not immediately available. The Independent has filed a Public Records Act request seeking that information.

Morton and Tuazon have both since left the department. They earned $208,000 and $161,000 a year, respectively, and will be allowed to collect their full pensions.

Hired in 2001, Morton previously served as a field training officer, SWAT team member, and professional standards sergeant. He was promoted to senior command in 2018 but placed on administrative leave in 2023 amid Boucher’s allegations. He resigned this March.

Morton’s resignation prompted an inquiry by the California Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training. Rather than participate in the inquiry, Morton surrendered his license to serve as a law enforcement officer in California, ending the state’s investigation. 

Tuazon, a Navy veteran with a master’s degree in social work, was hired in 2011 and worked as a patrol supervisor, narcotics detective, and school resource officer. He was also placed on leave amid the accusations before medically retiring in October.

The lawsuit states Boucher, 53, had worked as a parking enforcement officer for nine years before being promoted to a position overseeing special events directly under Tuazon and Morton. 

The “severe and repeated verbal abuse” began almost immediately, the complaint says, with Tuazon puffing out his chest and yelling at Boucher in her small cubicle, telling her that she should work at a hair salon and stating, “I know that I and other men intimidate you, but you need to get over it,” among other comments.

Meanwhile, Boucher alleged, Morton would routinely sexually harass a female colleague, groping her breasts and buttocks and sending her lewd photos. Boucher often found herself consoling her distressed coworker, while also being told by Morton that Boucher should convince her colleague to “invite him over for a cocktail” and “let him try out her new mattress.” 

After eight months, Boucher asked to be transferred back down to her original position. The lawsuit notes that the outside firm hired by the city to investigate Boucher’s claims ― and those of other women in the police department ― “found multiple instances of gross violations of SBPD policy and multiple violations of discriminatory, abusive, and offensive conduct by the defendants.”

The settlement comes as another case involving a former SBPD sergeant accused of mistreating women is working its way through the courts. Last October, Sergeant Brian Larson, the decorated head of the department’s Crimes Against Persons unit, was fired after the city determined Larson had retaliated against a detective who complained he was much tougher and demanding of female detectives compared to their male counterparts. 

An internal affairs investigation found that Larson had also made comments such as: He didn’t like supervising females; that women belonged in the kitchen; and when describing a woman outside the department, “She can cook and looks good in a dress. What else does she need to do?” He reportedly called the hoodies some female detectives wore on informal days “lesbian sweaters.”

Larson, who was with the department for 17 years, has filed a lawsuit against the city that argues he was wrongfully terminated and should be reinstated. The next hearing in that case is scheduled for December 10 in Santa Barbara Superior Court.