Lesbian Cop Sues for Discrimination

A police sergeant is suing the British Transit Police, alleging her fellow officers showed hostility after she fought to have her girlfriend assigned to the same shift.

Sgt. Jasmine Stewart, who joined the force at its Ashford station in 2005, says her request to have girlfriend Mhairi Gilchrist work the same hours was not off-base because heterosexual couples were allowed to work together, but Inspector Terry Reene told her, "People wouldn't like it, you two being a couple," London's Daily Telegraph reports.

Eventually, in 2006, the women were allowed to work the same shift, but only after Stewart threatened to file a complaint. She claims that her colleagues showed ongoing hostility toward their relationship, with comments about "poofs" and other homophobic remarks. So she filed a suit charging discrimination based on her gender and sexual orientation; it is currently being heard in an Ashford court.

Bejamin Uduje, representing the police force, said the women's request to work together was initially denied because the arrangement would have been inappropriate. However, he added that their relationship was accepted by the police force and that there was no "culture of homophobia."

Stewart was moved to tears at one point in court this week, the Telegraph reports. The case is continuing.