A Secret Service officer assigned to protect Vice President Kamala Harris who got into a brawl with her colleagues earlier this week, had previously filed a $1 million gender discrimination lawsuit against the city of Dallas while working as a police officer. The agent was identified as Michelle Herczeg, 43, a female agent on Vice President Harris' security detail.
Herczeg was removed from her duties on Wednesday after exhibiting erratic behavior and assaulting a superior officer while awaiting Harris' departure from Joint Base Andrews in Maryland on Monday, the Washington Examiner reported. It has emerged that Heczeg had filed a gender discrimination lawsuit against the city of Dallas in 2016.
In the Line of Fire
The lawsuit claims that Herczeg faced retaliation after she reported instances of sexual harassment by her colleagues within the Dallas Police Department. She also claimed that she was denied the opportunity to return to a crime reduction unit after alleging that a senior officer had assaulted her in May 2015, as reported by the Dallas Morning News.
Legal documents from 2021 reveal that Herczeg filed a lawsuit against the city of Dallas, alleging gender discrimination, wrongful termination based on gender, retaliation based on gender, and aiding and abetting discrimination.
The initial lawsuit claimed that the department tolerated unprofessional behavior, such as fraternization and unprofessional male and female working relationships, based on an atmosphere that favored the male officer in charge, regardless of rank or ability.
According to RealClearPolitics, Herczeg arrived at Joint Base Andrews on Monday morning and reportedly began deleting apps from a male agent's personal cell phone before getting more irate.
According to the outlet, Herczeg started muttering to herself, seeking refuge behind curtains, and throwing menstrual pads and other items at another agent. She allegedly told her colleagues that they were "going to burn in hell" and insisted that they needed to "listen to God."
According to RealClearPolitics, when the special agent in charge attempted to remove Herczeg from the assignment, she allegedly shoved, tackled, and punched him. A source quoted by RCP said that Herczeg "snapped entirely" during the incident.
Difficult Past
Herczeg was hired by the Dallas Police Department in September 2008 and attained the rank of senior corporal in 2015. Prior to joining the police force, she served in the Air Force for eight years.
Having graduated from the police academy in the top five percent of her class, Herczeg pursued additional law enforcement training to become a drug recognition expert.
Herczeg claims that she was denied the opportunity to rejoin the North Central Crime Reduction Team after reporting the alleged assault.
The lawsuit claims that Herczeg was denied overtime patrol shifts, resulting in her and her family experiencing "stress and mental anguish" due to the loss of compensation.
A Texas court dismissed Herczeg's lawsuit, and a court of appeals subsequently denied both her appeals in 2021 and a request for a rehearing the following year.
