DC Assistant Police Chief Sues Department For Allegedly Pressuring Her To Have An Abortion Or Be Fired |

D.C. Assistant Police Chief Chanel Dickerson said the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) of Washington, D.C., told her to either have an abortion or accept termination from the department’s cadet program at 18 years old.

“My choice to have a baby was personal and it should’ve been mine alone and not for an employer ultimatum,” Dickerson said in a Tuesday community meeting, Fox 5 reported. She went on to say that she does not have any children.

Dickerson and 9 other women are suing the MPD of D.C. for $100 million. The officers allege a culture of discrimination and harassment. One woman “had to do things no woman should ever have to do” in order to work on a schedule that was conducive to caring for her child as a single mother, Dickerson stated.

Another police officer from Dickerson’s recruit class, Karen Arikpo, said she faced the same abortion ultimatum as Dickerson when she was a cadet, Fox 5 reported. “It’s so unfair … and now I’ve never been able to have a kid. All these years, I’ve tried and I’ve never been able to have a baby,” she said. Arikpo said that if she could go back in time, she would have quit her job and kept her baby.

The Supreme Court is expected to hear arguments Dec. 1 in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, a case which could result in overruling Roe v. Wade.

The MPD of D.C. did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.