OMAHA- A former Omaha police captain has prevailed in her claim that Omaha Police Chief Todd Schmaderer retaliated against her by not promoting her to deputy chief for filing a discrimination complaint with the Mayor’s Office.

After deliberating for five hours, an eight-person jury unanimously agreed that former Capt. Kathy Belcastro-Gonzalez’s complaint played a role in Schmaderer’s choice to not promote her to deputy chief.

Belcastro-Gonzalez had alleged that she was wrongly bypassed for the promotion in 2018, despite scoring No. 1 in the city’s third-party testing process.

The jury awarded Belcastro-Gonzalez lost wages and benefits of $680,000 plus $20,000 in other damages after hearing evidence in a four-day trial.

Belcastro-Gonzalez said her lawsuit represented all women who are afraid to speak out against their employer when they see or experience wrongdoing.

“I’m disappointed the court didn’t allow the contents of her termination into the proceedings, as they would have provided more clarity and evidence as to why I could not promote Mrs. Gonzalez over other more qualified candidates,” Schmaderer said in a statement.

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