Montville — The Town Council voted Wednesday to settle a complaint against the Montville police department that an officer filed in 2013.

Montville police Officer Karen Moorehead filed the complaint discussed at Wednesday's meeting in February 2013, as a joint case with the commission and the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

No details about the complaint or settlement were disclosed Wednesday.

The Town Council held an executive session Wednesday to discuss the litigation and later voted 6-0 to approve the settlement.

Councilor Laura Tanner was absent.

Cindy M. Cieslak, an attorney with the Hartford firm FordHarrison representing the town in the complaint, said state police Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection and Moorehead must agree to the settlement before it is finalized.

Moorehead filed a complaint with the commission in 2013 alleging that State Trooper Sgt. Martin Martinez harassed her, then retaliated when she complained to state police about his behavior.

The Day reported in 2013 that Moorehead had not asked for specific damages in the complaint, only "any remedy to which I may be entitled."

Moorehead is still an officer in the department, Montville police Lt. Leonard Bunnell said Wednesday.

She said in her 2013 complaint that in August 2012 Martinez, then the resident state trooper assigned to the Montville department, set his cellphone's ring tone to play “where the white women at?” during roll call, then said, “Oh look, she just walk in" when Moorehead arrived.

Moorehead asked the state police Equal Employment Opportunity Unit to require Martinez to change his phone's ring tone. Martinez complied, removing the ring tone from his phone, according to the complaint.

But Moorehead alleged that Martinez then changed her work schedule in retaliation, asking her to begin reporting to work by 6:50 a.m., which she said was a violation of the department’s collective bargaining agreement.

In October 2012, the union filed a grievance alleging the town violated the union contract by changing Moorehead's hours without five days' advance notice.

Mayor Ronald McDaniel denied the grievance.

Later that year, the department began an internal investigation into Moorehead’s handling of sexual assault complaints, and removed her from the school resource officer post.

The Bureau of Professional Standards and Compliance later cleared Moorehead of any misconduct, and a state Board of Labor Relations panel ruled last year that the town violated the Municipal Employee Relations Act by changing her work hours, launching the internal affairs investigation and reassigning her from the school position.

The board ordered the town to reimburse Moorehead for any lost wages, including overtime compensation, from October 2012, when the union filed a grievance on her behalf, through February 2013, when the town hired a civilian campus security officer.

The Town Council vote Wednesday to settle the Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities/EEOC complaint only referenced the case number of Moorehead's complaint, and no additional information about the amount or terms of the tentative settlement was provided.

Moorehead also alleged in 2012 that Bunnell, the department's highest-ranking officer, made an inappropriate comment about her appearance.

An internal town investigation concluded that Bunnell's comment did not constitute harrassment, but that Bunnell routinely intimidated officers in the department.

m.shanahan@theday.com