Portland City Council has approved a $50,000 settlement agreement with a former Washington County deputy who’s accused a city employee of violating her privacy in a sexual discrimination case.

Commissioners opted to pay off the deputy instead of getting involved in a trial by jury, a case that city attorneys say the city could lose.

Angela Branford, who worked at the Washington County Sheriff’s Office (WSCO) deputy until last June, sued her employer in 2017 for retaliating against her for pointing out rampant workplace sexual harassment and reporting sexual abuse by her training officer at WCSO in 2015. That officer, Jonathan Christensen, was fired and sentenced to two years of probation later in 2015, after the Portland Police Bureau (PPB) investigated Branford’s allegations.

It was during that investigation that Jeffrey Myers, the PPB detective assigned to Branford’s case, asked her for access to her cell phone files—including text messages, nude photos, and voicemails, many of them unrelated to Christensen. Branford only allowed Myers to take her phone after he explicitly promised not to share the files with anyone else. Myers has confirmed that he made this promise.

Regardless, Myers ended up sharing her cell phone files with Lieutenant John Black, the head of WCSO’s internal affairs office. Black went on to share the files with other WCSO employees and an outside private investigator.

In her legal complaint against the City of Portland filed in January 2018, Bradford accused Myers of breaching his “duty of confidentiality” by sharing this information with the very individuals he knew she was planning to sue for tolerating sexual harassment and retaliation.

“As a result of the City’s breach of its duty toward Deputy Branford, she suffered physical personal injuries and emotional distress,” the lawsuit reads. Branford requested a jury trial and a total of $550,000 from the city to pay for her damages. City council approved a $50,000 payout in an ordinance passed Wednesday morning.

“The lawsuit has been investigated by Risk Management Services,” reads the city ordinance. “The investigation indicates there is risk of exposure to the City. In order to avoid the risk of an adverse jury award, we feel it is prudent to compromise the lawsuit at this time.”

Branford’s attorneys declined to comment on the settlement.

Branford was fired in June 2018 for using an internal database to get information about a friend's domestic violence case. In December 2018, Branford sued the union that represents WCSO for refusing to challenge her firing, citing discrimination. Her lawyers said that the union defends its male members who've been fired far more frequently than its female members, despite being terminated for similar issues.

Branford's federal case against WSCO for retaliation and harassment is slated to go to trial in 2020.