Another setback has been delivered in Snohomish County Superior Court to the Edmonds police detective who alleged the city mishandled her domestic dispute.
Judge Ronald Castleberry has signed the City of Edmonds’ judgment rather than the one requested by Ronda Rohde, who claimed the city improperly supervised her former boyfriend, also an Edmonds police officer, as well as botched her ongoing domestic dispute with him.
“Edmonds has been officially adjudged the prevailing party in the lawsuit,” said Mark Bucklin, the attorney retained by the Washington Cities Insurance Authority to represent the city.
The decision by Judge Castleberry allows Edmonds to collect certain specific court costs totaling about $325, according to Bucklin, who is with the Seattle firm of Keating, Bucklin &McCormack.
It also, he added, “starts the clock ticking” on the 30 days Rohde’s side has to file an appeal.
Rohde’s attorney, Mary Ruth Mann, was involved in a trial the week of June 13, according to her law office. She did not return a pohone call for comment on the latest court action.
Last month the judge refused to overturn a jury decision to award no money to Rohde despite the jury’s April 14 finding that she suffered harm from the city’s negligence in supervising others in the department who made negative comments about her.
The jury also decided she was not entitled to damages in her civil lawsuit.
In her original lawsuit, Rohde sought more than $1 million in lost wages, direct costs and general damages.
Since April 27 she has been on family medical leave, which allows employees up to 12 weeks per year of protected time off, according to Debi Humann, Edmonds’ manager of human resources.
Under the benefit, which is commonly used for maternity, adoption and serious medical situations, the employee may return to the same or similar job and pay, explained Humann.
With Rohde’s absence, the police department is short one detective, said EPD spokesman Sgt. Jeff Jones.
The department must hold the space for Rohde or fill it — which is not an option due to budget constraints — and retain the replacement if Rohde returns, according to Sgt. Jones.
Rohde has not yet indicated whether she plans to return to the police department.
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