A Columbus, Ohio police officer is suing the city and administrators over a sexting scandal.
Officer Tricia Zimmerman admits to sending her boyfriend -- also a Columbus police officer -- nude photos of herself, but says they were taken off-duty during and sent to and from their personal phones, according to WBNS-TV.
In a federal lawsuit, Zimmerman claims her boyfriend's estranged wife got a hold of his phone and took it to Columbus Police Internal Affairs where she alleged the two had had sex while they were on duty.
While an Internal Affairs investigation found the allegation to be unsubstantiated, investigators printed and shared the nude photos with officers who were not involved in the investigation, according to the lawsuit.
In a response to the lawsuit, the city of Columbus denies the allegation.
Zimmerman says she was subjected to unprofessional and degrading comments by supervising officers and jokes about sending the photos to magazines.
When she complained about what she deemed a hostile work environment, Zimmerman claims she was retaliated against, losing overtime and duty assignments. The city also denies this allegation.
Zimmerman claims that administrators -- including the chief of police, knew of this and failed to act. She said that the result has been emotional and economic harm to her and her reputation.
Her boyfriend, Officer Jeffrey Lazar, has also filed a related federal lawsuit alleging that internal affairs didn't have a warrant to search his cell phone, violating his fourth amendment rights.
Both of the officers are seeking unspecified damages.
