Crime & Safety

Gig Harbor Sergeant Claims Harassment Against Police Department

Sgt. Sharon Cox has been called a "coward" for her actions during the Key Peninsula Market shooting earlier this summer. Her attorney claims there is a sexist attitude in the Gig Harbor Police Department.

A Gig Harbor police sergeant has been called a “coward” by her fellow officers for her actions during the Key Peninsula Market shooting this summer, but her attorney is calling it nothing more than a sexist smear campaign.

Sgt. Sharon Cox has filed a legal claim against the Gig Harbor Police Department for harassment, according to a KOMO News report.

Cox is still on duty in Gig Harbor but claims a backlash from her fellow officers after the incident, and that they are trying to oust her from the department.

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When Cox received the call to respond to a shooting at the Key Peninsula Market this August, she was near Home Depot but didn’t start driving to the scene until 10 minutes later, according to documents obtained by KOMO News.

The police guild issued a unanimous vote of no confidence against Cox and called her response “cowardice,” because she responded too slowly to the shooting, where one man was killed and two others injured. Laura Sorenson, the woman responsible for the shooting, has been charged with attempted murder.

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Cox was reprimanded for her actions during an internal affairs investigation on the matter but was reinstated.

Read more on KOMO News.

Do you think Sgt. Cox' claims of sexism are founded in this case? Tell us in the comments.


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