Agency To Pay Officer $70,000 In Firing Claim Policewoman Said Termination As Instructor Due To Pregnancy

A former state police academy instructor who claimed she was fired because she was pregnant has settled out of court for $70,000.

The state Criminal Justice Training Commission, which provides basic training to police and corrections recruits in the state, admitted no wrongdoing in the agreement.

Maurine Stich, now a Seattle Police burglary detective and mother, said she feels “totally vindicated.”

“I feel due to the (pretrial) testimony it was obvious that the issue was my pregnancy, that that was the issue all along,” said Stich.The settlement is expected to be filed in King County Superior Court this week.

Assistant Attorney General Betty Edwards said the state settled because it couldn’t be certain what a jury would decide, and said Stich’s pregnancy had nothing to do with the firing.

Stich, contracted from the Seattle Police Department, worked at the training center in 1993 for two months before she was fired.

Edwards said Stich lost her position because the training commission was concerned about Stich’s qualifications and performance as an instructor. Stich, a first-time teacher, had not received much training as an instructor, Edwards said.

“This is not to suggest she’s not a capable police officer,” Edwards said.

But Stich’s lawyer, Shelley Kostrinsky, said pretrial testimony emerged that managers were concerned the state agency would have to pay Stich’s salary while she was on maternity leave and were concerned about the image of a pregnant woman teaching police recruits.

Six current or former employees have filed discrimination lawsuits or human rights complaints against the state Criminal Justice Training Commission over the past 18 months.

The agency hired an independent consultant who found the commission provided an uncomfortable, sometimes-hostile work environment for many women and minority employees.