Former Apopka police officer sues city, alleges discrimination after seeking PTSD treatment
A former Apopka police officer is suing the city for allegedly discriminating against her after she began mental health treatment following a traumatic incident in the field.
The complaint filed Thursday in the U.S. District Court in Orlando on behalf of Ashley Eller alleges the city violated the Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments Act when it suspended and subsequently terminated Eller “in retaliation for seeking treatment related to her disability.”
The complaint also says the city “purposefully delayed” her hearing for disability benefits, causing her a “loss of income and emotional distress.”
Eller began mental health treatment through the University of Central Florida’s RESTORES program in March 2022. Eller had been working for the police department since September 2010.
Eller sought counseling after she began “experiencing post traumatic stress disorder” because of “a work-related incident” that occurred in January, the complaint says.
After about a few months of counseling, the administration “was made aware that [Eller] had been seeking counseling through the UCF Restores program.”
According to the complaint, Eller was placed on administrative leave in June 2022.
In August, Eller emailed the city requesting to be a dispatcher “while she completed her mental health counseling program.” The email included other accommodations Eller had requested under the Americans with Disabilities Act, the complaint says.
Eller had experience working as a dispatcher, according to court records. And, at the time of her email, the city was “actively looking to hire additional hire additional [dispatchers]” and “was in such a need for additional [dispatchers] that [the city] was routinely paying overtime to its current staff of [dispatchers] and sworn officers.”
Two days after she sent the email, Eller was terminated from the police department, the complaint says.
Later that month, Eller provided the city with a note from her psychiatrist indicating she was cleared for clerical, office-based, or record-keeping positions. Her request to be transferred to a dispatcher position was denied.
Eller filed for disability benefits in September 2022. The same month, she filed a charge of discrimination with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the Florida Commission on Human Relations.
In May, after six months, the city held the first hearing about Eller’s disability request. The city issued an order approving Eller’s request for disability benefits days later.
“At all times, [Eller] was ready, able, and willing to perform the essential functions of the [police office] position had [the city] allowed her to continue treatment,” the complaint says. “[Eller] believes she
was discriminated against because of her actual and/or perceived disability, and in retaliation for seeking treatment related to her disability.”
The police department and the city have not responded to multiple phone calls and voicemails seeking comment.
Eller is suing for damages “for emotional pain and suffering” as well as costs and attorney’s fees, injunctive relief and a judgment that the city violated the Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments Act.
She has requested a jury trial.