$75K Awarded to Former Police Chief
By Allyson Dix, Managing Editor/Barren County Progress
*** Editor’s Note: This story has been updated since the printed publication following the return of an open records request. The updates are at the end of the article
The former chief of police has been awarded a settlement of $75,000 following a lawsuit filed against the City of Glasgow in April 2024.
Former chief Jennifer Arbogast filed suit against the City (d/b/a Glasgow Police Department) citing gender discrimination and constructive discharge, which means the tendering of a resignation but not necessarily a voluntary one.
According to an Agreed Order of Dismissal dated September 19 and signed by Barren Circuit Court Judge John T. Alexander, the case was dismissed with prejudice, meaning it can’t be brought back to court and has forever been dismissed.
The agreed order states, “The parties announce to the Court that all claims asserted or assertable in this matter have been resolved.”
Arbogast filed the lawsuit last April against the city. Not long after Henry Royse stepped into the role as Glasgow’s mayor in 2023, he called for Arbogast’s resignation.
She was the city’s first female police chief, and according to court documents, experienced routine comments of gender discrimination. The lawsuit initially requested a trial by jury but has now been settled outside of court.
City Attorney Rich Alexander said in an e-mail to BCP on Monday that “the matter was mediated by a disinterested mediator selected by the parties and the case was settled for the sum of $75,000.00.”
The decision to settle was made by the City’s insurance company, which the City of Glasgow pays for through premiums, with neither party lessening their position. However, Alexander said the settlement isn’t an indication of the City admitting guilt and he confirmed that all settlement monies will be paid by the insurance company.
Arbogast began her career in Glasgow as a police officer in 2002, and she was promoted to chief in July 2019, where she served until April 2023 at the time of her resignation.
After serving a total of 21 years with the Glasgow Police Department, she handed over a written letter of her resignation in which she stated that current Mayor Royse asked her to resign with no reason given or documentation.
Back in April of this year, the Barren County Progress attempted to locate any grievances, complaints, or reprimands on Arbogast through an open records request to the City of Glasgow. The return was that per both the city’s human resources department and Glasgow Police Department records such records “do not exist.”
BCP reached out to Arbogast for comment who provided the following statement on Monday:
“If I can say one thing it would be that being able to serve the people in the community of Glasgow for twenty-one years was an honor.”
Arbogast still currently serves as a law enforcement officer in Horse Cave.
*** The Barren County Progress filed an open records request on September 24 for more details of the settlement and terms of the agreement. Those were returned on October 2 and confirm that Arbogast’s settlement check was disbursed by the Kentucky League of Cities Insurance Services Association, who will also pay the fees charged by the mediator that resulted in the settlement.
Additionally, both parties agree to pay their own attorneys’ fees, costs, and expenses, according to the document.
The Settlement Agreement states, “It is understood and agreed by the Parties that this settlement is a compromise of disputed claims and is made in the interest of economy to avoid the expense of further litigation…[the] intent is merely to reach a compromise…the payment to be made is not to be construed as an admission of liability.”
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